Digital Conundrum
by the enchanted celery
Summary: A totally axed Digimon Left Behind 7 Days crossover. And you really don't want to read it, either. Most definitely discontinued.
1. Little Birdies Are Going To Fall From th...

Digital Conundrum  
The original Digimon Adventure 02 / Seven Days / Left Behind crossover story  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Digimon, Seven Days, or Left Behind for that matter! (Wish I did....) They belong to richer people than I.  
  
Note: If any of you have seen the 'Left Behind' movie, I used the situations from the movie mainly for this story - which will explain why Buck and Hattie already know each other. And I HATE the American names of all Digimon characters, so I used Japanese names. And a final thing - the Holy Angemon in this fic is from the Digimon manga, not the anime.  
  
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming....  
  
Backstep 00  
Little Birdies Will Fall From the Sky - and That's Not All!  
  
Location - downtown Los Angeles, California, USA  
  
A shadow of a woman slipped through a hole in a gate on her way to the cordoned-off apartment building. She grudgingly made her way through forests of fallen bricks before reaching the collapsed base of the fire escape. The woman looked up, her pointed hat sliding off her head.  
"Blast," the woman cursed, righting the hat on her head. With an expert leap she jumped onto the third-level of the fire escape and clambered into the window.  
A man was seated in a leather chair in the awaiting room. He was wearing a long, blue jacket and a blue conductor's hat, and he greeted the woman as she entered. "Oh, lovebunkins," he said, standing from his chair and supporting himself with his cane. His white eyes glowed in the dark room. "Is everything set?"  
The woman smiled, her purple lips framing her teeth. "Of course. All I have to do is call the United Nations and NNL, and then...."  
Her accomplice limped closer to the woman. "Then what?"  
"Oh, God, you should know that," the woman scolded, smacking the man on the cheek. "Little birdies are gonna fall from the sky ... and the apocalypse will begin. And don't call me lovebunkins - do that again and I'll be tempted to do more damage." She walked further into the room, the man limping behind her. "Now give me the phone - I have an important call to make."  
  
Location - NNL (Never-Never Land), somewhere in the deserts of Nevada, USA  
  
The phone in Nate Ramsey's office rang, waking the chief of security of Project Backstep from his long deserved sleep. He groggily took the phone from the hook, hoping it was not a drunken Frank Parker calling about the latest credit card bill.  
"Parker, if that's you, you better not freaking tell me that you blew a thousand dollars of taxpayer money abroad in England," Ramsey groaned, bringing the phone to his ears.  
"Oh, it's too bad that you're not Frank," a sultry female voice replied. "Frankie told me that this was the number to his apartment."  
Veins started to bulge at Ramsey's temples. "God freaking darn it, woman, did Parker reveal the number again to this place?" he yelled into the phone. "If you're one of those ladies that he picks up at the local bar, well I could just tell you that you got the wrong number!"  
"Oh, but I didn't meet Frankie at a bar," the woman crooned. "I've known him for a very long time."  
Ramsey's face was flushed red up to his balding scalp. "Well, you shouldn't have called this number, anyway. Now what are you here for?"  
The woman chuckled gleefully. "Get Frankie on the line within the hour. If you don't...." She left the line hanging.  
Ramsey was visibly fed up with the woman's game. "If I don't get Parker on the line, then what?" he yelled, prepared to slam the phone down into the receiver.  
"Well, then little birdies are gonna fall from the sky," the woman continued. "Now get Frankie on the line. I don't care if you have to use three-way-calling or long-distance - the taxpayers are the ones paying for this."  
Ramsey, confused, pushed the three-way calling button on his phone. He dialed the number to Parker's cell phone, hoping that the chrononaut for Project Backstep would not be sleeping on his way to England.  
After dialing Parker's number, Ramsey placed the woman on hold - after having a heated argument as to why. Exhausted from the debate, he pressed a button on the nearby intercom.  
"Owsley?" he called. "Are you awake?"  
A young, groggy voice greeted him. "Yeah. What now? There hasn't been a backstep recently."  
"I want you to trace a call within the hour. Meet me in the hangar."  
There was a pause, then: "Oh, I see. Did we lose Parker again?"  
"No, Owsley. Just meet me in the hangar - I'll brief you, Isaac, Olga, Donovan, and Talmadge then. Ramsey out."  
Then the phone rang again. Ramsey picked it up, and was surprisingly relieved to hear Parker's voice on the other line.  
  
Location - somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, en route to London, England  
  
Frank Parker's ringing cell phone was like a roar in the sleeping first-class cabin on the Pan-Con 747. Well, almost - a young man with long, blond hair was working on a laptop next to him. He seemed to be press - he was calling up newspaper articles from the Internet.  
Parker cautiously opened up his phone. "Parker here," he whispered, afraid to wake anyone - especially the elderly couple across the aisle from him.  
"Parker, how many people have you given out the NNL phone number to?" Ramsey yelled out, his words audible even to the passengers.  
"Uh, sir, could you tell your friend to tone it down?" the man next to Parker requested. "Can't you see that people are sleeping?"  
Parker nodded. "Sure thing, mister...."  
"Williams. Buck Williams."  
"Buck. Yeah. I'm Frank Parker."  
"Nice to meet you, Frank." Buck extended his hand, which Frank took gladly. "Aren't you leaving someone on the line?"  
Parker looked back at his phone - Ramsey was stringing curses out from the other side. "Oh, yeah. Thanks for reminding me." He brought the phone back to his ears. "Ramsey, all the passengers are asleep on the plane! Could you at least shut your mouth?"  
"Well, sorry," Ramsey said sarcastically, bringing his voice down. "But I got this call from one of your girlfriends that little birdies are gonna fall on the sky if you don't freaking talk to her!"  
Parker took the phone away from his ear in shock. "Another girlfriend?" he nearly yelled before he brought the phone close to him again. "Look, Ramsey, I haven't been going out with any other girls since the last backstep, all right? I haven't even talked to any since I was in the airport! Well, maybe I did talk to one of the flight attendants...."  
"A flight attendant!" Ramsey yelled back. "Parker, don't tell me that you gave the number to a flight attendant."  
"I didn't, Ramsey, I swear!"  
"God," Ramsey swore, "I have no idea what to do with you, Parker. Here's that woman now. Owsley will be tracking the call. I'm hoping that he'll find out where your old girlfriend is."  
"Great," Parker groaned. "Just what I needed - another woman on my case."  
Buck looked up from his laptop and turned towards Parker. "The guy you talked to was your boss?"  
Parker shook his head. "Not exactly."  
Buck sighed. "I'd hate to be you."  
Parker nodded. "You have no idea."  
  
Location - NNL  
  
Owsley, Olga, Talmadge, Isaac, and Ramsey were crowded before a large computer screen in the hangar complex of NNL. White-uniformed mechanics scurried around the nearby Sphere, fixing minor damages from the last backstep.  
The mysterious woman that had called Ramsey earlier that day was speaking again, this time to Parker. As the two were speaking, Owsley flew his hands over the keyboard, bringing up a map of the world on the computer screen.  
"Okay, girls and guys," Owsley said, adjusting his glasses. "The red blips are where the call has been relayed. When you see a green light, that is where the call is coming from."  
"Thanks for explaining that, Mr. Owsley," Talmadge remarked. Despite the late hour, he was still dressed in suit and tie. "Now let's listen to what Parker has to say."  
Parker's voice came up on the speakers. "Listen here, girlie - I have no idea who you are, so why call me?"  
The woman gave Parker an angry grunt. "You hurt me a long time ago, Parker. So for two years I planned revenge. Then it came to me - you're in a plane right now. So nothing could be better than having a little birdie or two fall from the sky, eh?"  
"Listen here, lady-"  
"Tisk tisk, Parker. My name's Delores. Don't you remember?"  
"No, I don't, Delores. But if you do this, you'll kill more than just me. Think of all the innocent people!"  
"Sorry, but I don't care." The sound of Delores hanging up echoed through the hangar, followed by some curses from Parker.  
"God, I do not know anybody by the name of Delores!" Parker whispered harshly. "Was Owsley able to trace the call?"  
Owsley looked at the computer screen under the wary eyes of his superiors. Red dots were scattered over the map, connected by blue lines. "It originated from Washington, but then it went through Chicago, Boston, Taos, Los Angeles, London, then it disappeared for a while before I got it again in Tokyo. I got no real lock on the call, though. Sorry."  
Olga brushed her red hair from her face and looked closely at the screen. "Look here, Owsley," she said, pointing at one of the lines. "This one seems ... wavier than the rest. And these over here, too. What do you think it means?"  
Owsley shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the call was jumped through interdimensional rifts."  
"That isn't possible," Isaac mused. "We don't know if other dimensions exist."  
"No, that isn't true," Donovan argued. "Remember the electric parasite that ate up our systems? When the Sphere was traveling through time, it went through another dimension, where apparently the parasite hitched a ride."  
Isaac nodded. "Oh yes. I remember."  
"I do too," Parker muttered through the speakers. "Not a happy time. Now I have to catch some shut-eye here before pub time in London. Parker out."  
  
Location - somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean  
  
Parker shut down his cell phone and tucked it into his pocket. "That was not a good call," he sighed as he settled himself in his chair. It was hard, though, with Buck's arm resting on one of the armrests.  
Oh, the disadvantages of window-side seats in airplanes!  
Buck looked over at Parker and closed his laptop. "Girlfriend of yours get angry at you?" he asked.  
"You said it," Parker moaned. "God, where's a flight attendant when you need one? I need a pillow."  
A woman in a blue flight attendant's uniform came down the isle with a pillow. She reached her arm over Buck and tucked the pillow beneath Parker's head.  
"Ah, that feels good," Parker sighed in relief. "Thanks, miss flight attendant."  
"You're welcome," the woman replied before she left.  
  
Location - downtown Los Angeles  
  
The mysterious woman gently placed the phone back in its receiver and smiled. "There. One call finished. You done talking to the UN?"  
Her accomplice smiled. "Just did. They totally believe that some Nicolae Carpathia is going to talk to the UN tomorrow on the subject of world peace." He laughed.  
"Good," the woman said, walking deeper into the room. This section was filled with computer consoles and LCD screens. The woman seated herself before one of them and moved the mouse to deactivate the screen saver.  
When the screen saver vanished, a digital countdown clock appeared. It was ticking, with ten seconds left.  
The woman chuckled evilly. "Project Digital Conundrum will start in five ... four ... three ... two ... one...."  
The word READY flashed on the screen, reflected in the woman's sunglasses.  
"It's ground zero," the woman crooned, pressing a red button beside the computer.  
  
Location - Holy Point, Digital World  
  
Daisuke, Miyako, Ken, and Hikari were standing on a bluff overlooking an ebony spire. Their digimon partners were standing beside them, looking at the spire warily.  
"Another Holy Stone," Daisuke sighed, adjusting his goggles. "Should we have the digimon evolve now?"  
Ken nodded as he stared at the screen of his D3. "Yeah. Black War Greymon's going to be here very soon." A red dot on the D3 screen was moving steadily closer to their location.  
Daisuke smiled. "Good. Let's go protect that Holy Stone! V-mon, go!"  
V-mon raised his blue head to stare at his partner. "Okay! V-mon, evolve! XV-mon!"  
Wormmon, standing by Ken, started to glow with a golden light. "Wormmon, evolve! Stingmon!"  
Hawkmon rose into the air by Miyako. "Hawkmon, evolve! Aquillamon!"  
Hikari looked over at Daisuke. "Shouldn't we Jogress evolve? The last time we faced Black War Greymon, he defeated us."  
Daisuke brought a hand to his chin. "You know, you're right. XV-mon, you ready?"  
"Ready!" the blue-and-white dragon growled. "How about you, Stingmon?"  
The large insect nodded. "As ready as you are."  
"Good! XV-mon...."  
"Stingmon...."  
"Jogress evolve! Paildramon!"  
Tailmon, sitting on Hikari's shoulder, looked over at Aquillamon. "Let's do it! Tailmon...."  
"Aquillamon...."  
"Jogress evolve! Sylphymon!"  
The two Jogress-level digimon swooped down into the canyon before the Holy Stone. They stood as guardians, looking towards the horizon at the dark figure that loomed closer to them.  
The darkness known to the Digital World as Black War Greymon.  
A mysterious voice echoed through the canyon, easily recognized by the Chosen Children as the calling of darkness.  
"Stay away from the Holy Stone!"  
The dark figure was now clearly seen to the children and the digimon. It was Black War Greymon, complete with his ebony skin and silver armor. A twin of the War Greymon that had fought alongside Hikari, Takeru, and the other children five years ago in a previous adventure - yet he was different. This War Greymon was tainted with darkness.  
Paildramon readied the cannons at his sides and aimed them towards the dark dragon. "You are not getting near the Holy Stone! Desperado Blaster!" Bullets of blue light shot out from the cannons towards Black War Greymon's armored chest, not eliciting a response of any sort.  
Sylphymon flew into the air and readied her hands in front of her body. "You heard Paildramon! Stay away! Static Force!" A red beam of light struck Black War Greymon's back.  
The dark dragon roared and swung one of his claws at Sylphymon. "No-one dares tell Black War Greymon what to do! Dramon Killer!"  
Sylphymon jumped out of the range of the glowing claw, seeing it buried in the rock where she had once been. She turned her head to look at the Chosen Children, and saw Iori and Takeru make their way towards the battle.  
"Takeru! Iori!" she called out. "Have your partners evolve!"  
Iori hesitated and seemed to mutter something before he finally said, "Armadimon, get down there and fight."  
Armadimon looked up at Iori and nodded. "Okay! Armadimon, evolve! Ankylomon!"  
Takeru looked up at Patamon with worry and hatred in his eyes. Tears were ready to gush from them, and he seemed to have a hard time holding them back. "Patamon ... you know what to do."  
Patamon cheerfully nodded. "Sure! Patamon, evolve! Angemon!"  
Ankylomon and Angemon leaped into the fray with the blast of their special attacks emerging from the now-fading light of their evolution.  
"Tail Hammer!"  
"Heaven's Knuckle!"  
The spiked club on Ankylomon's tail struck Black War Greymon's leg, not even moving him an inch. The holy light of Angemon's attack, though, struck the dragon in his eyes, blinding him momentarily and wheeling him back a ways from the Holy Stone.  
"Now's your chance to attack!" the angel cried out.  
The shouts of "Desperado Blaster!" and "Static Force!" echoed through the canyon, yet the screams of Black War Greymon were not to be heard. The children and digimon were hopeful, but they were unsure as to what had happened. Was Black War Greymon defeated? Or were the cries of battle just drowning them out?  
A dark figure that appeared in the rising dust of the attacks answered their question.  
"Ha. That didn't even faze me."  
Black War Greymon emerged from the dust, his very presence bringing fear into the children. Not a single scratch was on his armor, but there was a dark burn on his helmet where Angemon's attack had landed.  
"It didn't even harm him!" Paildramon gasped.  
"No - there's a burn mark on his helmet," Sylphymon cried. "Which one of our attacks did that?"  
"It wasn't me," Ankylomon shrugged. "Angemon?"  
"I think it was mine," he gasped.  
"Makes sense," Sylphymon replied. "You did stun him long enough for us to attack."  
Black War Greymon inched closer and brought his claw in a wide arc towards the digimon. "Dramon Killer!"  
The digimon were thrown to various directions in the canyon, each of them slamming into the rock. Ankylomon was slumped on the far side of the canyon, and the two Jogress-types were just below the Chosen Children. Angemon was at the base of the Holy Stone, but was leaning upon his staff.  
Black War Greymon marched towards the Holy Stone and grabbed Angemon by the neck. Two of the three claws on his hand threatened to choke the digimon.  
"So I finally got hold of the Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope," Black War Greymon growled. "Have any last words to say?"  
The Chosen Children on the cliffside looked down at the precarious scene below them. They were confused by Black War Greymon's words, and worried for the safety of their digimon.  
Takeru was on the verge of tears, and was ready to leap off the edge of the cliff to come to Angemon's aid. "Angemon! Do something!"  
Hikari came next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry, Takeru. He'll come through. He always does."  
Takeru hung down his head. "Yeah." He looked at Black War Greymon, seeing Angemon struggling to pry the dragon's claws away. "He always comes through. But, Hikari ... what did Black War Greymon mean by Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope?"  
Hikari shrugged. "Beats me. I haven't even heard of a Trumpet of Hope. And what does Angemon have to do with it?"  
"I don't know."  
Below, Angemon turned his head towards the Chosen Children. "Takeru," he gasped, "I'm doing my best here. All that matters is that we protect the Holy Stone ... right?" He seemed to give a sheepish smile, but it was hard to tell, for his helmet perpetually hid his eyes from view.  
Takeru nodded. "I guess. But what about the Trumpet of Hope - have you heard of it?"  
There was no response from Angemon - Black War Greymon violently threw him towards the Holy Stone. The angel, nearly unconscious, struck the stone with such force that the entire canyon shook with the impact. Then he fell to the ground, crumpled at the base of the stone like a doll. He did not move; the children doubted that he was alive.  
"Angemon!" Takeru cried out. "Angemon!!"  
Angemon lifted his head slightly. His helmet was cracked on one side, revealing an eye of ivory. "I'm okay," he moaned, righting himself with his staff again. "I'll keep Black War Greymon from the stone - don't worry."  
Black War Greymon was working his way back to the Holy Stone as Angemon readied a shining fist for his attack. The light, though, was weak - there was no way that this strike could harm the dark dragon.  
And that was then the Holy Stone shone with a blue light.  
The Chosen Children gasped in awe at the brilliant light that engulfed the Holy Stone. Black War Greymon haltingly backed away from the light, shielding his face with his armored claws. "Keep the light away!" he cried out.  
The light of the Holy Stone enveloped Angemon, and his shining fist glowed brighter than the Chosen Children could remember. He thrust out his fist, and the brilliant golden light shot out from the depths of the Holy Stone's aura.  
"Heaven's Knuckle!"  
The light struck Black War Greymon on his armored chest, shattering it. The dragon slammed to the ground, moaning in pain. "How can this be?" he groaned, struggling to stand.  
The Holy Stone's aura died out, revealing the glowing body of Angemon. He stood before the stone, seeming to stare intently at Black War Greymon. Angemon, though, was starting to ... change.  
"What's happening?" Daisuke said, bringing his goggles over his eyes.  
Takeru looked down at Angemon, a look of disbelief on his face. "I ... I think he's ... evolving," he gasped.  
"That can't be!" Hikari protested. "We gave up our crests five years ago, making it harder for our digimon to evolve to any level higher than Champion!"  
"Maybe he's tied to the Holy Stones in some way," Takeru said. "And also to that Trumpet of Hope that Black War Greymon mentioned."  
Over the din of the children's voices, Angemon cried out, "Angemon, super evolve! Holy Angemon!"  
White light engulfed the canyon, blotting everything from sight. A few minutes later the light died down, revealing a brilliant angel in robes of white. A single pair of white wings grew from his back. Upon his head and covering his eyes was a helmet shaped like an ivory miter, emblazoned with a silver cross. Hair of gold cascaded down his back, down to his waist.  
Takeru rubbed his eyes, unable to believe that the strange digimon was Holy Angemon. The Holy Angemon he remembered had a force-field shield, a lightsaber, and a purple miter. And he remembered that Angemon's evolved form was clad to battle, not to display some sort of higher majesty.  
"That can't be Holy Angemon," Hikari gasped.  
Miyako, unusually silent, finally spoke up. "Who is Holy Angemon?"  
Takeru slowly turned his head towards Miyako. "He's the evolved form of Angemon," he said blankly. "More powerful than even Paildramon or Sylphymon."  
"Well, then, that's a good thing, right?" Ken asked. "The other digimon are out cold."  
Takeru looked back at the unfolding battle. "I hope so."  
Holy Angemon stared at Black War Greymon, who had managed to get back on his feet. Black War Greymon was the first to speak.  
"So, you are the mysterious digimon that I saw in the aftermath of the destruction of the third Holy Stone," he growled. "I have been wanting to challenge you, Holy Angemon - and now I shall." He started to advance towards the digimon.  
Holy Angemon ignored Black War Greymon's taunt. "You are a creature of pure darkness," the angel whispered in a monotonous tone. "One of your kind can not be permitted to walk on the soil of the Digital World. I shall send you to the darkness from whence you came."  
A sword of silver appeared in the hands of Holy Angemon. With deft expertise he brought the blade in a circle before him. A disk of gold materialized before him, emblazoned with a message in Digital World hieroglyphs on the edge and a strange graphical design on the inside.  
"Heaven's ... Gate!"  
The design seemed to split in two, revealing a semi-transparent whirlpool of lavender light that brought even the rocks on the ground inside. Yet the rocks did not emerge from the other side of the gate to pummel Holy Angemon - they just simply vanished.  
"This shall be the tool of your destruction," the angel whispered, and the gate moved to a position behind Black War Greymon.  
Black War Greymon struggled to move closer to Holy Angemon, yet the strength of the gate's pull was inching him closer to the black hole. "If you believe that you will take me down, Holy Angemon," the dragon whispered, "then I shall be glad to take one last Holy Stone with me - just so that the both of us could continue our battle elsewhere." He brought his arms before his head, and an orb of raging fire materialized. "Gaia Destroyer!"  
Holy Angemon brought the sword in a downward arc, striking the orb of fire. The fireball landed behind Black War Greymon into a wall of the canyon. Rocks tumbled down, creating a wall in the far end of the canyon.  
Black War Greymon was now bracing himself at the edge of the gate, his head halfway inside. "What are you to do next? Finish me with that sword?"  
Holy Angemon raised his arms, ignoring Black War Greymon's words. "I call upon the power of the Holy Stones - release the Trumpet of Hope!"  
A beam of blue light shot out of the Holy Stone behind Holy Angemon, aimed for his hands. Three more beams streaked across the sky, meeting with the light in Holy Angemon's hands. Then they vanished, leaving a silver hunting horn in the angel's hands.  
"The Trumpet of Hope shall awake those that will defeat you," Holy Angemon bellowed, bringing his arms down. With the Trumpet in one hand and his sword in the other, he charged towards Black War Greymon. He thrust the gleaming sword into the dragon's unprotected chest.  
Black War Greymon groaned in pain, and released one clawed hand from the gate to swipe at the angel. Holy Angemon jumped out of the way, but too late to prevent his robes from being cut.  
And then Holy Angemon cried out in anguish.  
"What's happening?" Iori asked impatiently.  
Takeru, still looking down at the battle, saw the angel engulfed in white light. The sky above darkened, leaving only the light from the D3s, Holy Angemon, and the gate the only items that illuminated the canyon.  
"I have no idea," Takeru whispered.  
Hikari trembled. "This doesn't look good," she whispered. "Darkness is swallowing the Digital World."  
Ken and Daisuke looked up at the sky. An alien, yet familiar landscape was opening, replacing the starry expanse that blanketed the heavens during the evening. There was an ocean, with waves in shades of grayscale crashing on the beach.  
"The Dark Ocean," Ken whispered. "But how?"  
Below, Black War Greymon bowed his armored head and closed his eyes. "The Digital Conundrum has begun," he said before he plunged into the gate.  
The gate closed and collapsed upon itself in a glimmer of golden light.  
Black War Greymon was no more.  
"We did it! We defeated Black War Greymon!" Daisuke cried out. "Time to celebrate!"  
All the kids yelled in delight, yet Takeru could not help but notice that something was wrong below. He walked away from the children and climbed down the side of the canyon, making his way towards Holy Angemon. When he reached the angel, tears sprang to his eyes.  
Holy Angemon was sprawled facedown on the floor of the canyon, his sword nowhere to be found. The Trumpet of Hope was by one of his hands, easily in reach. Yet the angel made no attempt to grab it; he didn't even move at all.  
"Holy Angemon!" Takeru yelled, nudging the digimon's shoulders. "Holy Angemon! Please wake up! Come on!"  
Holy Angemon slowly raised his miter-covered head and smiled. "I did it, Takeru," he gasped weakly. "I protected the Holy Stone."  
The children above continued to cheer, paying no heed as to what Takeru was doing. "That's good," he said, patting Holy Angemon on the shoulder. "Thank you."  
The angel took the Trumpet of Hope in his hands and brought the mouthpiece to his lips. "Now it is time for me to save you the agony of seeing me leave you again."  
Takeru gasped. "Leave me? Holy Angemon, you don't know how you scarred me when you - as Angemon - sacrificed yourself to defeat Devimon! Please don't say that you used all your power to defeat Black War Greymon, too!" Tears fell from his eyes, falling on the digimon's body.  
Holy Angemon looked away from Takeru and sighed. "Black War Greymon did not take my power - someone from your world did." He turned one last time towards his partner. "I'm sorry, Takeru - but this time, we will not see each other again."  
With the last of his strength, Holy Angemon blew into the Trumpet of Hope. Bright lights formed where Takeru and the other Chosen Children were, engulfing them.  
A second later all that was left in the canyon was a Holy Stone, the lifeless body of Holy Angemon, the stirring bodies of Ankylomon, Paildramon, and Sylphymon, and the clothing and D3s of the Chosen Children.  
Sylphymon walked over to Holy Angemon, finding Takeru's shirt and hat laid neatly over the angel's body. She nudged the digimon with a clawed foot, receiving no response. Weak from the battle, Sylphymon glowed with a red light and reverted back to Tailmon and Hawkmon.  
Tailmon climbed onto Holy Angemon's back and pulled at his hair. The angel still would not move.  
"Holy Angemon!" the cat-like digimon called out, jumping before the angel's face. "Wake up! Takeru - he's gone! Only his clothes and D3 are left!"  
There was still no reply.  
Hawkmon flew to Tailmon's side and looked at her with solemn eyes. "Tailmon, I don't think he's going to wake up," he said, bowing his head. "I saw the position of Takeru's clothes - they were sprawled over Holy Angemon's body. It was like he was crying or something - the angel's robes were moist, too."  
Tailmon looked down at the lifeless digimon, tears rising to her eyes. "So ... he's not coming back," she muttered, reaching for the angel's miter. Tailmon lifted it from Holy Angemon's head, revealing the face of a handsome young man eternally in slumber.  
Ankylomon and Paildramon made their way to the body of the fallen digimon and bowed their heads. "He did good," Ankylomon said as he reverted back to Armadimon. "He actually managed to defeat Black War Greymon - despite that Iori kept on arguing that the monster had a heart."  
"It doesn't matter now," Paildramon sighed. "I wonder why I don't hear the kids - they should be celebrating over this. I'm going up to the cliff." He bounded to where the other children were in a single leap.  
A few minutes later, V-mon and Wormmon's anguished cries echoed down into the canyon. "Hey! Only Daisuke's clothes and D3 are here! And so are Iori's!"  
"Same with Ken, Miyako, and Hikari!" Wormmon called out.  
Armadimon, Hawkmon, and Tailmon looked at each other in worry. "What do you think happened to them?" Armadimon asked.  
"Maybe they're running around in their underwear somewhere!" V-mon yelled.  
"No, that can't be," Tailmon muttered. She looked down at Holy Angemon's face again, this time noticing a shining silver object by the angel's mouth.  
It was a hunting horn emblazoned with the Crest of Hope.  
Tailmon took the horn in her claws and stared in awe. "The Trumpet of Hope," she whispered. Hawkmon and Armadimon crowded around her to take a look.  
"I've never heard of a Trumpet of Hope," Armadimon scoffed.  
"Angemon told me about it once, when we were fighting Venom Vamdemon. He said, 'If only I had the Trumpet of Hope to awaken the digimon fallen by his hand - then we could defeat him easily.'" She turned to look back at the lifeless digimon. "Angemon didn't know he was the guardian - and neither did I or Agumon or the rest of the digimon. But he did know of its power."  
"And that is?" Hawkmon asked worriedly.  
"Well ... legend had it that the Trumpet of Hope would call the children and the faithful to a golden land ... while the Digital World and Earth are plunged into darkness for seven years."  
  
Location - somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean  
  
Frank Parker awoke a minute later to the sounds of Buck's laptop. He looked over at his new friend's laptop drowsily, managing to see a video play on QuickTime.  
"New movie you downloaded from the Internet?" Parker asked, leaning on the armrest to get a better view of the laptop screen.  
Buck shook his head and kept his eyes on the screen. "No. I just activated my computer, and for some reason the QuickTime program automatically came on and played this. I guess I got a streaming feed from a website that I didn't realize. Problem is, I can't get off it." He chuckled. "Nice movie, though."  
Parker looked closely at the screen. "It's subtitled. Somebody out on the net has good taste."  
The two stared at the screen for a while, reading the yellow-highlighted subtitles that graced the bottom of the QuickTime window. They were confused by the overall storyline - mainly because they had just tuned in - yet the premise was nearly tear wrenching for the men.  
-- I did it, Takeru. I protected the Holy Stone.  
-- That's good. Thank you.  
-- Now it is time for me to save you the agony of seeing me leave you again.  
-- (sob) Leave me? Holy Angemon, you don't know how you scarred me when you - as Angemon - sacrificed yourself to defeat Devimon! Please don't say that you used all your power to defeat Black War Greymon, too!  
-- Black War Greymon did not take my power - someone from your world did. I'm sorry, Takeru - but this time, we will not see each other again.  
Buck was wiping tears from his eyes. "My God, that was sobering," he whimpered, watching the movie play itself out. The character called Holy Angemon brought a silver trumpet to his lips and played a single mellow-sounding note.  
"You know, Buck, this movie would go well with a beer," Parker said, seeing the flight attendant that had given him the pillow pass by again. "Don't you think?"  
Buck nodded. "Yeah. Miss Durham, could you give us two beers?"  
The flight attendant turned to look at Parker and Buck. "Sure. Do you want them in the commemorative Pan-Con First Class Glasses?"  
Buck nodded. "Sure, Miss Durham."  
Parker nudged Buck with his shoulder as Miss Durham left them. "Wow, Buck. You sure know how to pick up the ladies. You know her?"  
"Sure," Buck nodded. "Hattie's the flight attendant on all Pan-Con flights from Chicago to London. I've flown this circuit a couple of times." He smiled as Hattie came back with two beers in slender glasses. "Thanks, Miss Durham."  
Hattie smiled. "Sure, Buck. Oh, and thanks for referring me to Nicolae Carpathia," she added before she left. "Today's my last flight."  
Buck took the beers and handed one to Parker. "Oh, that's too bad. Nicolae gave you the job?"  
"Yeah, he did. Well, see you later." The woman went off, and Parker craned his head to see where she was off to.  
"So, how did you and Hattie get off to a good start?" Parker said, taking a sip of his beer.  
Buck drank some of his beer and stared at the screen of his laptop. "Oh, she gave me a couple of beers. When she found out that I was a world-famous writer for the Global Weekly-"  
Parker nearly spat his beer in Buck face. "Wait - you're the Buck Williams that wrote the article on - what was that guy - that scientist from Israel...."  
"Chaim Rosenzweig," Buck finished. "Yeah, I'm him. That fact really turned on the ladies - even Hattie. I even got nominated by Nicolae Carpathia to be his publicity manager - and that's how I got her recommended for a job with him."  
"And Nicolae's what, some Russian politician?"  
"No - he's the Romanian president. Shhh, wait - I think this movie's getting to a more somber part." He took another swig of his beer and turned the laptop so that Parker could see.  
-- He did good. He actually managed to defeat Black War Greymon - despite that Iori kept on arguing that the monster had a heart.  
-- It doesn't matter now. I wonder why I don't hear the kids - they should be celebrating over this. I'm going up to the cliff.  
The woman that sat across the aisle from Buck and Parker turned towards the two. Her husband was nowhere to be found. She seemed confused, looking for someone.  
"Henry? Henry, where are you?"  
Buck rose from his seat and walked over to the woman. "What is it, ma'am?"  
The woman sighed, relieved. "Oh, it's my husband, Henry. It seems that he's not here. Could you help find him for me?"  
Buck nodded. "Sure. He's probably just in the restroom." He started to head down the aisle when the called him again.  
"Oh, and could you bring this with you, too?" the woman added, handing Buck a blanket.  
Buck looked down at the blanket dumbly. "Uh, why the blanket?"  
The woman signaled for Buck to come close to her. "I think he's run off in his underwear," she whispered in his ear.  
Buck backed away from the woman and took a glance at the seat next to her. A pile of clothes, placed as if a man were reclining, were laid out on the chair where the man had sat for the entire flight. He looked back at the woman. "I see what you mean. Well, I'll just tell my friend that I'm going off, and then I'll find your husband. I'm sure he'll be easy to spot."  
Buck walked across the aisle and leaned over a chair to Parker. "Hey, Frank, I'll be off to the restroom for a while. Tell me what I missed in the movie, all right?"  
Parker took a swig of beer - his glass was only half filled now. "Sure. Hey, what's with the blanket?"  
Buck looked down at the blanket in his hands. "Oh, this? Well, you see, I have to find some guy in his underwear that's roaming about the plane."  
Parker raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Uh, somebody would've reported a guy walking in briefs immediately if they found him. Now come down and watch the movie."  
Buck leaned over to gain a view of the laptop screen. There were a few strange stuffed animal-like creatures that were crowded before the head of the unconscious angel that had blown the trumpet. They were looking up at a blue-and-white reptilian stuffed animal that was jumping up and down, holding a pair of flight goggles.  
The subtitle read: Maybe they're running around in their underwear somewhere!  
A camera rose to where the blue stuffed animal was. Beside it was an insect-like creature that scurried about on the tips of its claw-like legs. Scattered on the ground were five different sets of clothes, a strange digital device beside each of them.  
Buck backed away from Parker in shock - that was exactly the scene that had greeted the woman when she noticed that her husband was missing! If those five people were missing, and that man, wouldn't there be others missing, too?  
"No, this can't be happening," Buck whispered. "This is just some kind of movie, prerecorded - it can't be live! People just can't disappear and leave their clothes and material belongings behind! This is just coincidence!"  
He ran down the aisle, the few people that were awake staring at him as he went by.  
  
Location - NNL  
  
Owsley sat in his darkened quarters in the NNL complex, a bowl of popcorn in his hands. Like the post-college graduate man he was, he was sitting before his computer, watching a streaming feed from the Internet.  
This particular video had been hyped on the net for the past few weeks. It was an untitled, anonymous work, but geeks across the world had dubbed it the QuickTime Version 6.0 Special. Apparently, it was only available to those that managed to download the program on a specific day, at a specific time - 1806 hours on the first day of August. Some of Owsley's friends on the net had had doubts about it - it could be a virus, or just a prank. But the officials at Apple Computer had released the news the previous day - it was neither prank nor virus.  
And now Owsley had the biggest treat of his life.  
The show had started immediately after tracing the mysterious call from Delores. Upon entering the room, Owsley saw that his QuickTime program had activated by itself, and a song in Japanese started to play. There were English subtitles on the bottom of the display window, though.  
For fifteen minutes Owsley stared at the screen, witnessing the strange battle for the protection of a Holy Stone. The story was strange to Owsley, but the great visual effects grabbed his eyes - they looked so real!  
"God, these Japanese really know how to make a movie," Owsley remarked, throwing some popcorn into his mouth.  
At the present, the cat-like creature called Tailmon was holding an object that was identified as the Trumpet of Hope. Two of the other creatures, Armadimon and Hawkmon, were crowded around her. Owsley stared at the subtitles - apparently Tailmon was explaining something.  
-- The Trumpet of Hope.  
-- I've never heard of a Trumpet of Hope.  
-- Angemon told me about it once, when we were fighting Venom Vamdemon. He said, 'If only I had the Trumpet of Hope to awaken the digimon fallen by his hand - then we could defeat him easily.' Angemon didn't know he was the guardian - and neither did I or Agumon or the rest of the digimon. But he did know of its power.  
-- And that is?  
-- Well ... legend had it that the Trumpet of Hope would call the children and the faithful to a golden land ... while the Digital World and Earth are plunged into darkness for seven years.  
Owsley threw some more popcorn into his mouth. "Harsh," he droned as he saw the QuickTime screen close down by itself.  
  
Location - somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean  
  
Buck ran back to his seat by Parker, nervous and breaking out in sweat. The blanket was still in his hands.  
"Hey, Buck, calm down," Parker said, handing Buck his beer. "Have a drink."  
Buck took a swig and sat down. "Parker - there's more people on the plane that are just ... gone. Vanished, I tell you! Only their clothes are left behind!"  
Parker grabbed Buck by the shoulders. "Buck, they're probably just having a big party in the cargo hold. Now calm down."  
Buck brought the blanket to his head and wiped off the sweat that dripped off his forehead. "But it was just like in that movie we saw on the laptop! All of the children and babies on board - gone! People in coach are going ballistic over it!"  
Parker nodded. "You probably just had one drink too many."  
Buck sighed. "Yeah. Hey, Parker, you told me that you'd tell me what happened during the movie when I was gone."  
"Oh, yeah." Parker finished off his beer. "Well, this cat dude, she picked up a Trumpet of Hope thingy, and explained that the dead guy was the guardian of the horn. And then she said that the horn would bring, what, the kids and faithful of the world to the golden land while Earth and some digital world are plunged into darkness for seven years." He scoffed. "I think it's all crud."  
The phone in Parker's pocket rang again.  
"Oh, just great - another phone call," he moaned as he took out his phone and opened it up. "Parker here."  
Talmadge's impatient, urgent voice greeted him from the other side.  
  
Location - NNL  
  
The briefing room at NNL, though drowsy, had a hectic atmosphere about it. It was a little after eight in the evening, but almost all the senior staff of Project Backstep had gone off to an early sleep. Now Talmadge, Donovan, Ramsey, and Owsley were seated at the long briefing table, looking either at files or the big-screen television that was currently tuned to CNN. Only Isaac and Olga were not accounted for.  
Talmadge dialed Parker's cell phone number, and immediately the chrononaut was on the line.  
"Parker here."  
Talmadge pressed the speakerphone button and leaned back in his leather chair. "Parker, we have a worldwide situation here."  
"You tell me," Parker scoffed. "We have half the passengers on this London-bound plane gone with only their clothes left behind." A pause. "You don't mean to say that this disappearance thing is worldwide, too?"  
Talmadge nodded. "It is. The President and Vice President are dead, Parker. Air Force One crashed off of Chesapeake Bay a little after eleven Eastern Time, and they were on board. A flight attendant jumped out and claimed that she saw the pilot and his copilot disappear out of their clothing in a flash of light."  
"So, why didn't the President and VP jump out?"  
Donovan was the next to speak. "They were sleeping and didn't know that the plane went down. The flight attendant couldn't wake them in time."  
"Oh."  
"Sources claim that the disappearances are also somewhat linked to a movie that was available only to those that downloaded a program called QuickTime Version 6.0 from Apple Computers' official site," Talmadge said. "It was about some kids and some monsters called 'digimon' that were trying to protect a 'holy stone'. An angel blew a hunting horn near the end, and the children in the movie disappeared."  
"I saw that movie, Talmadge," Parker sighed. "The person next to me just opened up his laptop, and the movie started to play. In the middle of the movie, a woman across the aisle from me called my seatmate, and told him to find her husband." He laughed. "Funny thing is, she told my friend to bring a blanket because she thought her husband was running around in his underwear. And then, my friend and I looked briefly at the movie, and one of the characters said, 'I think they're running around in their underwear!' Well, you know, the kids in the movie."  
"You know, I saw that movie too, this evening," Owsley droned. "Very strange movie, but it looked so real-"  
"Owsley, that movie may have been real," Parker interjected. "Was it a live feed?"  
"I don't know. I was so engrossed with it. The ending just left me hanging."  
"Owsley, the movie took place in a digital world," Ramsey scoffed. "There's no such thing as a digital world. Even if you did figure that it was a live feed, you would have gotten hold of some Hollywood studio."  
"The movie was in Japanese," Owsley groaned.  
"We're getting off topic here, team," Talmadge stated firmly. "Parker, we believe that we have to backstep. We have to find a way to prevent the disappearances - and save the lives of our President and Vice President."  
Parker sighed. "Well, this is going to be tough. I think I'm already in British airspace - we're going to have to touch down in minutes. And even then, it'll take twelve hours for you to fly here and get me back to NNL."  
"I know. We're currently short-staffed here, and it might take even longer than twelve hours to get you back. We've lost welders, medical assistants, even Isaac and Olga."  
There was a long pause; the men in the briefing room thought that Parker had hung up. A few minutes later Parker's tearful voice came onto the speakers.  
"I'll try to commandeer the plane," he said. "You guys have any leads as to who caused the disappearances?"  
"I think it's that Delores girl," Donovan said confidently. "She did say that she would make little birdies fall from the sky. CNN is having a field day with all the plane crashes and closed airports around the world."  
"I'd say the same too," Ramsey said, nodding. "She called a few minutes before the QuickTime special started."  
"I think the Holy Angemon character from the movie did it," Owsley droned, seemingly uninterested. "He's the one that blew the Trumpet of Hope that caused all the children and selected adults to vanish."  
"Owsley, he's a fictional character!" Ramsey roared.  
"Well, it's my opinion. Besides, if the movie was real, then he's the culprit."  
"Enough bickering," Talmadge calmly said. "Now, we don't have enough information, but we will have to backstep as soon as possible. Parker, is it possible to get more information?"  
"Sure thing," Parker said. "The guy I'm sitting next to is Buck Williams, from Global Weekly. He might have friends that know about this situation. He is the youngest award-winning journalist, after all."  
Talmadge nodded. "Good. Well, come back soon, Frank. The future of the world rests on your hands."  
"That's an understatement," Parker scoffed as he hung up.  
  
Location - British airspace  
  
Parker hung up and stuffed his phone deep into a pants pocket. He looked over at Buck, realization upon his face.  
"The disappearances are worldwide," he said blankly. "The American President and VP are dead."  
Buck hung down his head. "They disappeared, too?"  
"No. Plane crash. Their pilot and copilot disappeared."  
"Oh."  
Parker looked over at the aisle. The mayhem that Buck said was only in coach was now spreading into first class. Hattie the flight attendant walked down the aisle and turned on the main overhead lights, awaking everyone that was still on board. Passengers were crying and complaining, now realizing that family and friends had vanished and left only their clothes on their seats.  
"Passengers, calm down," Hattie said in her kindest flight attendant voice. "I'll be requesting that the pilot return us to O'Hare immediately after refueling in London."  
The passengers groaned, but Parker had a smile on his face. "At least I won't have to commandeer the plane," he sighed.  
Buck had gotten back on the Internet again, and was trying to access the Global Weekly website. A few minutes later the Global Weekly logo appeared, along with news heading scrolling across the bottom of the screen.  
"This is just great," Buck groaned. "Kennedy and London airports are shut down - no, wait, all New York and British airports are closed! The closest ones that are open are the De Gaulle in Paris and O'Hare in Chicago." He looked up at Parker. "This isn't good at all."  
"You've said it," Parker agreed. "Do you think this was all caused by that movie?"  
Buck shrugged. "Maybe. But then, I got some information from a friend of mine in London last week that may be of some use. I have it on a minidisk."  
"Do you have it on you?"  
Buck looked at his watch, which was one of those analog types with the wind-up alarm. Buck turned the alarm, and the clock face popped off, revealing the watch battery and a minidisk. Buck took out the disk before replacing the clock face.  
"It's all in here," he said with a smile. He stuck the disk into the laptop and logged off the net. A few minutes later two words flashed onto the screen in bold letters.  
Digital Conundrum.  
"What's a Digital Conundrum?" Parker asked, confused.  
"I have no idea. But you should see what comes up later."  
A map of the Middle East appeared on the screen, replacing the words. There were arrows pointing towards Israel, coming from the southwest, east, and north.  
"This was a plan for the air strike on Israel three years ago," Buck explained. "I was interviewing Dr. Rosenzweig about his Eden Formula when the strike started."  
Parker nodded. "I remember. You saw the air strike fail. The Israeli were unable to launch rockets or planes, yet the enemy forces were mysteriously destroyed."  
"Yeah. But what I don't understand, though, are these numbers here." Buck pointed to two numbers on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. They were strange ones: The first was Is 41: 25; the second, Ez 39: 4-7.  
Parker shook his head. "It must be some kind of code. I don't understand it myself."  
A voice on the plane's speakers echoed through the plane, interrupting Parker's conversation. "Passengers, this is Captain Steele," the voice said. "As you have heard, the mysterious disappearances have affected the entire globe. Due to the fact that the London airport and Kennedy are now closed because they are filled with grounded planes, we will have to turn back to O'Hare. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but the airline will give you a refund on the tickets."  
Scattered moans were heard amongst the remaining passengers in first class. Buck and Parker, though, stared at the computer screen as a new image flashed into view.  
This image was now a map of the world, with ten regions marked in a bright neon green. Each of the regions flashed every few seconds. Another number was on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, but the men paid it no heed.  
"You know what this is, Parker?" Buck asked.  
Again, Parker could only shake his head. "It's a map of the world, but I don't know what's with the ten regions here."  
"That's no help. I don't know, either."  
A new image replaced the world map. This one had no code number at the bottom of the screen, but strange symbols were scattered around two pictures. One picture was of an obelisk of ebony, and the other was of a stone encircled with a golden ring, engraved with the same strange symbols that covered the screen.  
"What about this?" Buck said when the pictures had finished loading.  
Parker shrugged. "I see strange symbols, the Washington Monument painted black, and a low-budget anniversary ring on display. I don't think I could figure this out unless I get somebody to interpret the symbols."  
Buck nodded. "Just as I was thinking. Now here's the last one."  
The final image not only had the strange symbols across the screen, but a similar code number in the bottom right-hand corner. The number was 1Thes 4: 16-17. Next to the strange symbols was an angel, exactly like the one in the movie Buck and Parker had seen earlier. In his hands was a silver hunting horn engraved with a medallion that looked like a prize ribbon - the Trumpet of Hope.  
"Hey, that guy was in the movie we saw!" Parker exclaimed. "What was his name again?"  
"I think it was 'Holy Angemon,' or something to that effect," Buck replied. "I can't believe it - I've been puzzling over the meaning of this picture since I got the disk from my friend! I thought it was just a prank, but this character must be real. And look - the horn he blew near the end of the movie is in his hands!"  
"The Trumpet of Hope," Parker breathed. "The cause of the disappearances. What a coincidence." He cradled his head in his hands and sighed. "Buck, could you make a copy of that disk before the plane touches American soil?"  
Buck nodded. "Sure. But why?"  
"I want to be able to figure out this whole vanishing thing. Maybe whatever happened in that movie did occur. And if it did ... then we're screwed."  
  
Location - Chicago O'Hare Airport, USA  
  
It was still dark out when Parker rushed to the NSA helicopter on the helipad. In Parker's hands was a single black duffel bag, with a copy of Buck's minidisk visible through a mesh pocket.  
Ramsey opened the door to the helicopter and helped Parker inside. The pilot activated the rotors, and the 'copter flew into the air.  
"So, Parker, did you get any more leads on the disappearances?" Ramsey yelled over the din of the spinning rotors.  
Parker nodded. "Sure do." He pointed to the disk in his bag. "Buck made me a copy of the disk that had whatever he knew about the disappearances on it. Owsley might have some fun with the program."  
Ramsey's eyes bulged. "Program?"  
"It's strange. I guess it's some kind of plan. There's code numbers on the bottom of some of the pictures, and on the last two there's a strange kind of alphabet that I don't think is used in any language I know. There's even a map of the air strike on Israel that happened three years ago."  
Ramsey gasped. "Really? You've got to be kidding me."  
  
Location - NNL  
  
Three hours later Parker was suited up in his orange flight suit, helmet and duffel bag in hand. He emerged from the elevator into the large hangar of the NNL complex, face to face with the Sphere - the only operational time machine in the world.  
"Frank," Talmadge said through the speakers, "You will be sent seven days before the disappearances. Be sure to get that disk to us immediately so that Owsley could decipher both of the codes. And get Buck Williams to help us, too."  
Parker nodded and walked up the gangway stairs to the Sphere's entry hatch. "Sure thing. Buck might have a copy in the earlier timeline."  
"Good luck," Owsley called."  
Parker waved a hand in the direction of the shielded control booth, and caught salutes from Ramsey, Talmadge, Donovan, and Owsley.  
"Hey Parker," Donovan yelled, "be sure not to go off to England on vacation after you get back!"  
"I know, Donovan," Parker droned as he climbed inside the Sphere and took his seat before the operating board.  
"Needles are engaged," Owsley stated.  
Parker took hold of the stick and stared at the screen. "Lock and ready," the computer droned, flashing an image of the Sphere and the six needles that kept it aligned. Two welders brought in the hatch door of the time machine and locked it into place with a hiss of oxygen.  
Parker placed the helmet over his head and put the duffel bag between his legs. He brought down the facemask and took hold of the stick again. "At least I know that if I don't prevent the disappearances, I'll make it all up to Olga and stop drinking," he joked.  
"Good one," Donovan laughed.  
"The reactor's at eighty percent," Owsley stated. "Ninety ... one hundred percent. Engage!"  
A red button by the screen before Parker flashed green, a signal that it was time to leave. Parker slammed on the button, and hung onto the control stick for dear life as the Sphere plummeted through time and space.  
The Digital Conundrum had begun.  



	2. Dark Ocean High Tide

Digital Conundrum  
  
Additional Disclaimer: Just for the record, anything copyrighted that I mention in this story is not a property of me! They belong to much more wealthier people than I.  
  
Author's note: Hikari and Takeru are in the Dark Ocean for three months because Hikari chooses to lead those digimon she encountered in "Dagomon's Call" against the 'dark undersea master', instead of refusing as she did in the series. And yes, she did bring her D3 this time around.  
  
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming....  
  
Backstep 01  
Dark Ocean High Tide  
  
*Location - Dark Ocean*  
*Time - seven days before Digital Conundrum*  
  
Hikari Yagami and Tailmon stood before the Dark Ocean, the pink aura about them the only color in the grayscale world. Behind her stood an army of Hangyomon, led by their appointed leader, Takeru Takaishi. Takeru's partner, Patamon, was seated atop his head.  
  
"Hikari," Takeru ventured, "we've been here for three months. Daisuke and the others are probably worried about us now. We haven't even had contact with Earth or the Digital World." He sighed. "Hikari, you shouldn't have even volunteered for defeating the Dark Undersea Master."  
  
Hikari, her eyes blank, turned to face Takeru. "I had no choice," she droned, her voice surprisingly adult for her young age. It had been like that since she had led the Hangyomon armies. "The power of the Crest of Light has told me to smite the darkness."  
  
Takeru shook his head. "You didn't have to drag me into it. At this rate, we'll be back by the end of summer vacation. And what about our group project with Daisuke?"  
  
"Daisuke's a jerk."  
  
"Exactly what I was thinking," Tailmon groaned. She leaned on Hikari's leg. "Now where are Dagomon and his troops?"  
  
Hikari turned back to face the ocean. "They're coming. Takeru, I want you to have Patamon and Tailmon armor evolve. Take Pegasmon and Nefertimon over the ocean. When you see Dagomon, signal with your special attacks."  
  
Takeru reluctantly nodded his head. He was always following Hikari's orders. "Patamon, are you ready?"  
  
Patamon jumped off of Takeru's head, almost taking the boy's hat with him. "Sure am."  
  
"Okay." Takeru took out his D3 and raised it before Patamon. "Digimental Up!"  
  
"Patamon, armor evolve! Galloping Hope, Pegasmon!"  
  
Hikari slowly moved her D3 from her waist and pointed the screen at Tailmon. "Digimental Up," she droned unenthusiastically.  
  
"Tailmon, armor evolve! Angel of Light, Nefertimon!"  
  
Takeru jumped onto Pegasumon's back and signaled for Nefertimon to come beside them. "I'll be back, Hikari," Takeru sighed as the two armored digimon rose into the air.  
  
*Location - Mount Prospect suburb of Chicago, Illinois, USA*  
  
Parker emerged from the Sphere, bloodied and bruised from the backstep. He threw off his helmet and tenderly rubbed his eyes, finding an unexpected scene before him.  
  
It was a street lined with houses.  
  
Parker groaned, but it was not from the pain. "Just great," he complained as he clambered back into the time machine to grab his duffel bag. "Talmadge is going to have a heck of a time with this one."  
  
When Parker climbed out of the Sphere again, he found a few people in sweats staring at him curiously. It was no big surprise - Parker was dressed in an orange flight suit, and a top-secret government experimental time machine was behind him.  
  
"Don't worry folks," Parker said as he made his way to one of the houses. "The thing won't hurt you - except for your morning commute."  
  
Parker made his way to the front door of the nearest house and rang the doorbell. It was a decent house, two stories tall, made of weathered brick. There was even a semicircular drive that went up to the doorstep.  
  
A man in a dress flight suit answered the door. He, too, had a duffel bag in his hands. Parker recognized him from the previous timeline as Rayford Steele, the pilot of the plane he took to England on the day of the disappearances. Rayford had a frown on his face.  
  
"Hi there," Parker smiled. "By any chance could I borrow your phone?"  
  
Rayford budged his way out of the door and walked over to his SUV in the drive. "I suggest that you ask my wife," he grumbled as he climbed inside the vehicle and drove off.  
  
Parker walked inside and shook his head. "Some bedside manner," he mumbled.  
  
The house was festively decorated with balloons and streamers. A die-cut paper banner proclaiming HAPPY BIRTHDAY was hung over the doorway to the kitchenette straight ahead. Before the stove in the kitchenette was a woman with straight blonde hair and a casual shirt and skirt hanging off her body. She was flipping some flapjacks onto a plate.  
  
"Mrs. Steele?" Parker ventured cautiously, not wanting the woman to burn herself.  
  
The woman turned around, revealing a friendlier face than her husband's. "Oh, hello ... sir," she stuttered, looking down at Parker's flight suit. "Uh, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I need to make an urgent phone call. Would you mind if I used the phone?"  
  
The woman nodded. "Sure. It's right next to the fridge."  
  
Parker nodded. "Thanks."  
  
A minute later he had dialed the Conundrum number and waited for the signal from the NNL switching board.  
  
*Location - NNL*  
  
"Conundrum."  
  
Talmadge picked up the phone in the briefing room and pressed the speakerphone button. "Talmadge here. Parker, what's the mission?"  
  
Parker's voice came through the speakers in the briefing room. "A series of mysterious disappearances will take place seven days from now. The President and Vice President were killed in the past timeline due to the crash of Air Force One."  
  
"Do you know who caused the disappearances?" Talmadge asked as the rest of Project Backstep's senior staff entered the room.  
  
"No. We only had three leads before backstepping. The first was a phone call from a girl named Delores that claimed that she was my girlfriend. Of course, I don't know anyone named Delores."  
  
"That's an understatement," Ramsey groaned as he settled into his seat.  
  
"Second is a streaming feed on the Internet dubbed by nerds as the QuickTime Version 6.0 special. I think Owsley knows something about it."  
  
Owsley, still in his pajamas, sat into one of the chairs. "I've heard of it. Even planning on downloading it, too. Could you tell me something about the movie?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, Owls. According to what I saw in the previous timeline, there were some 'digimon' and some kids having to save some kind of holy stone from a black dragon. Then some angel blew a trumpet, and all the kids in the movie disappeared out of their clothing."  
  
"Does that have anything to do with the disappearances here, though?" Donovan asked.  
  
"It does. Right when the disappearances occurred in the movie, they happened all over the world. All the children vanished, guys. Even some adults - including some senior staff members."  
  
"Like who?" Olga ventured.  
  
"Oh, well...." Parker laughed. "Ramsey-"  
  
"Me!" Ramsey roared. "Why do I disappear?"  
  
"I was kidding, Ramsey. But those that did disappear were most of the welders...."  
  
"Who needs all of those welders, anyway?" Owsley yawned.  
  
".... Isaac, some of the medical staff, and Olga, just to name a few."  
  
Talmadge bowed his head. "And this will all take place in seven days, right?"  
  
"It will. I also have a disk here from reporter Buck Williams that has some kind of plan. There are schematics for the failed air strike on Israel three years back, along with a strange map and two pictures of things shown in the QuickTime special. Owsley will have fun deciphering the two codes on this disk."  
  
"Yahoo," Owsley cheered unconvincingly.  
  
"Okay. So, where are you, Parker? And where's the Sphere?" Talmadge asked.  
  
"Well ... you wouldn't believe me," Parker chuckled, "but the Sphere landed in the middle of a residential street, I think near Chicago. I'm calling from a house."  
  
Ramsey struck the table with a fist. "Just great," he yelled. "Here we are on the most urgent mission of our lives, and the Sphere lands in a residential area! How are we going to pull this one off without the people noticing?"  
  
"Don't worry, Ramsey - it's a Monday," Parker said calmly. "Most people are at work. We'll get the Sphere and me out of here fine."  
  
"I hope the Panel doesn't take this badly," Talmadge sighed as he hung up the phone.  
  
*Location - United Nations Headquarters, New York City, New York, USA*  
  
Buck Williams climbed the many flights of stairs to Nicolae's private office in the main UN Building. The reporter didn't know why the Romanian president would want to see him - Nicolae was not known well as a press sympathizer. Yet here he was, in his best suit and tie, ready to face the man that was taking the global political world by storm.  
  
Three minutes later Buck knocked on a wooden door marked only with a plaque that read NICOLAE CARPATHIA - PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA. Within seconds a blonde man with power suit and tie answered the door.  
  
"Oh, good morning to you sir," the man said with a thick Russian accent, extending a hand. "I am Nicolae Carpathia. You must be Cameron Williams."  
  
Buck shook the man's hand and looked into his blue eyes. "Please, call me Buck."  
  
"Buck," Nicolae nodded. "You may call me Nicolae. Please, come inside." He led the reporter into the office and closed the door.  
  
Nicolae's office was nothing less than spectacular. There was a minibar beside an oak desk at the far end of the room. Behind the desk was a floor-length window, heralding a view of the city of New York. An open laptop was upon the desk.  
  
"Buck," Nicolae started as he sat behind his desk, "I have a little proposition to make. Please, sit down."  
  
Buck uneasily sat at a chair on the other side of the desk, facing Nicolae. The man's formal disposition was unnerving him. "So, what is this proposition?"  
  
Nicolae smiled. "Well, Buck, I need a publicity manager. The world is already being swooned by talk of world peace, and the press is hounding at me."  
  
"So, why would you want me?" Buck asked. "I'm press."  
  
"Yes, Buck, but you have not hounded trivial questions at me. You are the best journalist in the nation, Mr. Williams. That is why I officially name you now as my publicity manager."  
  
Buck gasped. Here he was, at his first meeting with the Romanian president, and he was naming him publicity manager? It was too much for him to handle.  
  
"Mr. Carpathia, I'm honored," he finally managed to gasp. "Is that all you want me here for?"  
  
Nicolae pressed a button on his laptop, and a CD tray emerged from the side. He picked up an unlabeled minidisk and raised it before Buck's eyes.  
  
"This disk has all the plans you need for the advertising campaign," he stated as he pressed the disk into Buck's hands. "Keep it safe. I do not want others to see the items upon it."  
  
Buck nodded and looked down at his watch. He turned the alarm mechanism dial, and the clock face popped off, revealing the battery. Buck dropped the disk inside, satisfied that it fit, and replaced the face.  
  
"I'll be sure not to reveal the disk to anyone," Buck nodded. "Is that all?"  
  
"It is. Be sure to keep in touch - I will need you here for the UN meeting." Nicolae rose from his seat and signaled for Buck to do the same.  
  
"I will," Buck said as he made his way to the door. He was about to turn the door handle when he doubled back and pulled some crisp papers from a pocket in his jacket. He laid them on Nicolae's desk.  
  
"Mr. Carpathia," Buck said, "these are the recommendation papers for Miss Durham, your secretary elect. I've even written a letter of recommendation for her."  
  
Nicolae nodded and sat back at his desk. He took the papers into his hands. "Thank you, Buck," he said as he buried himself into his work.  
  
Buck made his way back to the door and walked out. "You're welcome," he muttered as he gently closed the door.  
  
A strange voice from inside Nicolae's office caught Buck's attention. He leaned his ear on the door, hoping to hear more.  
  
"Archnemon? Yes, sweetie ... I've got Mr. Williams as publicity ... yeah, I still have the Digital Conundrum disk ... let me check ... darn it! I have the publicity disk! And that means that Buck has the Digital Conundrum...."  
  
Buck looked down at his watch and hurriedly made his way down the hall, away from Nicolae's office. He opened his watch and found the disk still inside. He sighed and ran down the stairs to his car and drove to his apartment. Whoever was talking in the Romanian president's office seemed that he wanted the disk in Buck's possession urgently.  
  
*Location - Dark Ocean*  
  
Takeru, Pegasmon, and Nefertimon landed on a rocky bluff a few miles away from the shore. The boy jumped off Pegasmon's back and walked to the edge of the rocks, the spray of the gray ocean sprinkling his body.  
  
"It's been three months, guys," Takeru sighed, "and we still have not defeated Dagomon and his Gesomon army. Do you two have any explanations as to why?"  
  
"Hikari seems not to have her heart into the battle," Nefertimon stated, "and you don't seem to go along with her orders."  
  
"And what does that signify?" Takeru asked, turning back to face the digimon.  
  
"Nefertimon and I don't seem to fight as well if your hearts aren't into your actions," Pegasmon said. "But then, I have another proposal."  
  
"And what is it?"  
  
"We haven't tried battling Dagomon and his army in our natural evolved forms."  
  
Takeru sighed. "That's true. Do you think we should try it?"  
  
Pegasmon nodded his head and reverted back to Patamon. "Sure. You ride on Nefertimon, leaving me free to battle."  
  
Takeru nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Let's give it a try." He took his D3 from his waist and pointed it at his partner. "Evolve!"  
  
Patamon shined with a golden light. "Patamon, evolve! Angemon!!"  
  
The angel stood by Nefertimon, their light seeming to add some color in the grayscale world. They stared off at the ocean, warily awaiting something.  
  
Then the shadow rose from the waters off the bluff.  
  
It was a strange shape, almost like a macabre cross between a squid and a human.  
  
Yet Takeru and the digimon knew whom this creature was.  
  
Dagomon.  
  
The Dark Undersea Master.  
  
*Location - NNL*  
  
Parker settled himself in Owsley's quarters at the NNL complex and threw the young man the minidisk he had obtained in the previous timeline. It had been hours since Ramsey had arrived in Mount Prospect to recover him and the Sphere, and now the chrononaut wanted a rest.  
  
"I call the disk Digital Conundrum," Parker said, pulling a chair up before the computer next to Owsley. "Those will be the first words that you see."  
  
Owsley placed the minidisk into a minidisk reader connected to his computer. Immediately the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM flashed on the screen.  
  
"Digital Conundrum," Owsley remarked, nodding his head. "Is there more?"  
  
The map of the Middle East appeared on the screen next, the code numbers still at the bottom of the screen. Arrows then appeared, flashing towards Israel from the north, east, and southwest.  
  
"I guess these were the plans for that air strike on Israel three years back," Owsley said. "The attack plan's exactly the same. There's a code number down here, too - I'll figure it out later." He pressed a few buttons. "Here's some more."  
  
The map of the world, with the flashing regions of green, replaced the Middle East map. "What do you make of that, Owls?" Parker asked.  
  
Owsley could only shake his head. "Don't know. But these regions all seem to be inhospitable areas." He pointed to where Siberia and the Sahara would be. "I don't see why they would be important."  
  
"Wait - there was a scientist that created a formula that could make plants grow anywhere," Parker suggested. "Do you think these are plans for growing things there?"  
  
"Yeah, it might," Owsley agreed. "The man that created that Eden Formula came from Israel."  
  
"And the attack on Israel might've just been a way to scare the Formula out of that scientist's hands. But why then use it on other parts of the world? As I remember, only Russia, Egypt, and I think Iraq attacked Israel three years back."  
  
"Maybe other nations would have bought it from those countries." Owsley looked back at the screen, and saw the code number at the bottom. "Great - another code. Looks the same as the other, but I'll find a way to figure it out." He pressed some more buttons on the keyboard.  
  
This time the picture of the black spire and the ring-adorned stone graced the screen, surrounded by the strange characters. Owsley looked at the characters in recognition.  
  
"I've seen these symbols before," he said excitedly. He typed in something, and immediately another window opened up on the screen over the pictures. This one had Japanese characters on the bottom, an input field on the top, and the words DIGITAL ANALYZER written on the far left side.  
  
"What's that, Owls?" Parker asked.  
  
"It's a Digital Hieroglyph Translator," Owsley replied. He selected an item on the analyzer, and the Japanese characters changed into their Digital Hieroglyph equivalents. "It translates from Japanese to Digital Hieroglyphs and vice versa. I've tweaked with this program, though, to instantly translate English into Digital Hieroglyphs and Digital Hieroglyphs into English."  
  
Parker nodded. "Good - you should've told me this in the previous timeline. Now where did you get this program?"  
  
Owsley gave a sheepish smile. "Oh, a website for the Japanese band Teenage Wolves. They're pretty good."  
  
"And why would something like this be on a band's web page?"  
  
"Rumor has it that the leader of the band, Yamato, he was transported to some place called the Digital World five years back," Owsley shrugged. "Yamato learned that the Digital Hieroglyphs correspond with Japanese phonetic characters. I downloaded this just for the heck of it, but I never thought that I would actually use it. But that stuff about a digital world - I think it's all crud."  
  
"Exactly what I would say."  
  
Owsley copied and pasted the Digital Hieroglyphs into the input field of the Digital Hieroglyph Translator. He pressed the TRANSLATE button, and immediately an English translation appeared in a separate window. Owsley scrolled through the translation quickly before he spoke again.  
  
"You were right about this disk being some sort of a plan, Parker," Owsley remarked. "This part describes what the stone and the black Washington Monument thing are."  
  
"What are they?" Parker asked, moving closer to see the translation clearly.  
  
"Well, the Washington Monument thing is called a Dark Tower. It is an object of pure darkness, with the same dimensions as the Washington Monument. When these things were powered with darkness, they put some sort of lock on the evolution of 'digimon'... what?" Owsley looked closer at the screen. "I have no idea what a 'digimon' is."  
  
"I think I might," Parker sighed. "In the previous timeline, I saw the QuickTime special, right?"  
  
"Yeah. So?"  
  
"There were some characters that looked like stuffed animals. They claimed that they were these digimon. And they changed their forms in a process called 'evolution'."  
  
"Oh. I see." Owsley rubbed his eyes. "Well, anyway, these Dark Towers also serve another purpose - they can be used either to create these digimon that you talk of, or they could amplify the powers of darkness after the Trumpet of Hope is blown, causing darkness to flood the Earth and the 'salvation' of the children and faithful of both worlds ... Parker, this isn't making any sense!"  
  
"Nothing on this disk makes any sense," Parker scoffed. "But I do remember that people disappeared when the Trumpet of Hope was blown in the movie."  
  
"And that could only mean, then, that this place where the Dark Towers are - the digital world mentioned in the movie you tell of - really exists."  
  
"That's what you thought in the previous timeline. Now tell me what this stone thing is."  
  
Owsley scrolled further down the translation. "The stone is a Holy Stone. It contains the powers of light that supposedly keep this digital world in balance. There is some sort of legend behind it - if some Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope calls upon the stones' power, then the said trumpet is revealed. And you probably already know what happens when that Guardian plays that horn."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Parker sighed. "Not a happy sight."  
  
"Well, there's more to it. The same results also occur when all seven of these Holy Stones are destroyed."  
  
"Let me guess - horn revealed, Guardian revealed, horn played, we all die. Right?"  
  
"You got the picture. Now here's the last one." Owsley closed the translation window and pressed a few keys. The final image, that of the angel and the horn, covered the screen.  
  
"Great - more of these Digital Hieroglyphs," Owsley grumbled as he selected the text and copied them into the field of the translator. He pressed the TRANSLATE key again, and this time a smaller translation window popped up.  
  
"Wow - very self explanatory," Owsley droned.  
  
"What do you mean?" Parker asked. "What does it say?"  
  
Owsley stared at the text. "This angel-digimon is named 'holy Angemon', and he's the Guardian of this Trumpet of Hope thing. There's statistics and everything about him - height, weight, special attack-"  
  
"Wait up - special attack?" Parker exclaimed. "An angel has a special attack?"  
  
"Hey, don't ask me," Owsley said, backing away from the computer. "See for yourself."  
  
Parker looked over at the translation on the screen. "Holy Angemon. Height - ten feet. Weight - four hundred pounds. He must work out. Let's see ... special attack - Heaven's Gate. He did that in the movie. Secondary attack - Excalibur."  
  
"That's so Stan Lee," Owsley droned.  
  
"Hey, Owls," Parker said, staring at the screen, "I think I figured out why the disappearances had occurred in the previous timeline."  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
Parker turned to face Owsley, his face grim. "The translation said that if the Guardian summoned the Trumpet of Hope and the Center is destroyed ... then the Guardian's strength would be stolen, resulting in the immediate playing of the horn and the Guardian's death."  
  
Owsley just stared at Parker with an 'I think you're out of it' look. "Parker, was that what happened in the previous timeline?"  
  
Parker could only nod his head. "Yeah."  
  
*Location - Buck's apartment, Manhattan, New York*  
  
Buck ran into his apartment, panting. Sweat dripped from his forehead into his mouth. The salty taste was uncomfortable to his tongue. He slowly made his way into his private office and closed the door.  
  
"What has gotten into Nicolae?" Buck asked himself as he sat before his computer. Normally - which was whenever Buck saw him on television - Nicolae was a pacifist, always bowing down to the needy. 'Father Theresa', that was what the senior staff at Global Weekly called Nicolae. Always trying to do something good for the global community.  
  
But the Nicolae that Buck had heard in his office only moments after he left - that was a man the world had yet to meet. The journalist wondered whom that Archnemon character that Nicolae spoke to was - the name didn't sound Romanian or American to Buck. Heck, it didn't even sound like it a name anybody on Earth would have. And what was this business about a Digital Conundrum disk?  
  
Buck took the disk from his watch and slipped it inside his computer's minidisk drive. Instead of Nicolae's advertising ploys, as he had expected, the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM graced the screen.  
  
"What is this?" Buck asked as the screen showed a map of the Middle East, arrows shown pointing to the general area of Israel. A code number appeared at the bottom of the screen.  
  
Then Buck's phone rang.  
  
*Location - NNL*  
  
Buck's voice came over the speakerphone in Owsley's quarters. Parker sat by the phone, with a ready view of the computer.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Mr. Williams?" Parker asked, falling into a comic book covered couch. Owsley sat beside him.  
  
"Uh, yes," Buck stuttered. "Who is this?"  
  
"My name's Frank Parker," Parker said. "Do you have the Digital Conundrum disk?"  
  
There was a long pause. "Are you with Nicolae?" Buck asked at length.  
  
"No - I'm NSA. No connection with Nicolae at all."  
  
A sigh. "Good. I just heard from Nicolae after I left the UN that he wanted to get back some Digital Conundrum disk. I don't even know what the Digital Conundrum disk is!"  
  
"Do you have a disk with you?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"Does it say DIGITAL CONUNDRUM when you insert it into your computer?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then that's the Digital Conundrum disk."  
  
Buck seemed to gasp, but a sound on a phone couldn't reveal much. "What do you want with it, Mr. Parker?" he finally asked.  
  
"We also have a copy of the Digital Conundrum disk," Parker replied. "We have figured out some of the codes that are in the latter part of the program. Now, you might have noticed the code numbers on some of the images, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Do you know what they mean?"  
  
Parker shook his head. "No. But we would like you to come over to NNL to help us figure it out."  
  
"No. I have a job, Mr. Parker. I have to work on the publicity for Nicolae Carpathia."  
  
Parker sighed in defeat. "Well then, Mr. Williams, I'll just leave you my number. You get yourself into trouble, you call me, all right?"  
  
"Fine," Buck said. "What's your number?"  
  
"It's 555-6751. You'll reach my cell phone."  
  
"All right. But don't expect an answer, Mr. Parker." He hung up.  
  
Parker turned off the speakerphone. "That was not the Buck I remembered from the past timeline," he sighed.  
  
*Location - Dark Ocean*  
  
Takeru jumped onto Nefertimon's back when Dagomon fully rose from the water. The monstrosity was nearly twenty feet tall from the water to his head. His long tentacle-like arms swept along the edge of the rocky bluff.  
  
"Angemon, Nefertimon, fly out of the way!" Takeru yelled. Immediately the digimon jumped from the ground. Dagomon's arm moved over the bluff - if they had jumped a second later, Takeru, Angemon, and Nefertimon would have been knocked into the gray ocean.  
  
The shadowy Dagomon then faced his miniature opponents, the maw of his ebony eyes boring into their hearts. He did not say a word, but his eyes told all. You must be destroyed!  
  
"Nefertimon," Takeru ordered, "do your Rosetta Stone attack! Angemon, when Nefertimon fires her attack, strike the stone with a Heaven's Knuckle! We have to alert Hikari!!"  
  
Nefertimon's armored back shone with a pink light, and a tome-shaped rock covered with Digital Hieroglyphs emerged. "Rosetta Stone!" the digimon cried out, and the rock shot out from the light.  
  
Angemon's staff glowed a brazen shade as it fell into his fist. He saw the stone shoot forth from Nefertimon's back and readied himself for the attack. The stone was halfway between Nefertimon and Dagomon when he fired the light from his hand.  
  
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"  
  
*Location - Buck's apartment*  
  
Buck fell asleep for a few hours before his computer. When he had finally awakened, he was disoriented, unsure of where he was. It was only by looking at his computer did he know that he was home.  
  
There were no windows in Buck's private office - only his computer, a phone, and a digital clock. He glanced at the clock and found it was eight in the evening. His stomach started to churn audibly - he hadn't had a meal since before he had met Nicolae.  
  
Buck removed the Digital Conundrum disk from his computer and returned it to the secret compartment in his watch. It was too late to go to a restaurant - it would be another night of eating instant soup before the television. He grudgingly rose from his chair and opened the door that led to the rest of his apartment.  
  
Buck, though, could only stick his head out of the door. The floor of the apartment was strewn with furniture stuffing and papers. It was as if a hurricane had made its way through the room.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?" Buck asked himself as he walked out of his office.  
  
Then he heard a yell come from his living room.  
  
"Snake Bandage!"  
  
Buck could see a shot of white and crimson lightning arc its way through his living room, striking the television. Sparks flew from the demolished TV, briefly setting some pieces of paper and stuffing on fire.  
  
That was when Buck saw the culprit.  
  
It was ... a mummy.  
  
A mummy with a machine gun.  
  
Buck took a closer look at the creature in the room, being sure not to reveal himself in the act. It was a mummy all right - or at least a man wrapped in toilet paper. He held a machine gun in his right hand and fired it randomly around the room. Occasionally he would laugh, the sound similar to that Buck heard in Nicolae's office after he had left....  
  
Buck then ran back to his office and muffled the sound of the closing door. He placed a chair and a few heavy folders against the door, and then locked it. "It must be the one that wants the disk," he breathed. "But why kill just for a disk ... wait - the maps!"  
  
Buck looked on his desk, finding the paper that he had written Frank Parker's phone number on. He took it and dialed the number into his phone, hoping that the NSA agent would pick up. If he were lucky, then the agent would send some special operation troop ... granted that one was available.  
  
*Location - NNL*  
  
Parker and Donovan were drinking in Parker's quarters when the chrononaut's cell phone rang.  
  
"Uh-oh," Donovan laughed drunkenly, slamming his bottle of beer on a table. "Looks like you've got another urgent call."  
  
Parker, still holding his beer, took his cell phone from his pocket and pressed a button. "Parker here."  
  
"Yes?" a familiar voice answered. "Is this Frank Parker?"  
  
"Yeah," Parker said, setting his beer down on the table next to Donovan's. "Who is this?"  
  
"It's me, Buck Williams. Listen here, Parker - I'm in trouble."  
  
Parker sat up. "What kind of trouble?"  
  
"There's a man, in my apartment. He's wrapped in toilet paper and has some sort of strange machine gun that shoots out electricity. I think he's after the Digital Conundrum disk."  
  
Parker's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait up - a guy ... in toilet paper? With a machine gun? Are you sure about this, Buck?"  
  
"I am!" Buck's impatient voice replied. "I think that maybe you could transport me to somewhere safe - somewhere where I could help you decipher the disk. Can you do that, Parker?"  
  
Parker looked up at Donovan, who had stood up rather shakily. "Could you set up a Special Ops team to rescue Mr. Williams, Donovan?"  
  
Donovan nodded. "I could, but I'd have to clear it with Talmadge."  
  
Parker nodded and returned to his phone. "Buck, we're setting up a Special Ops force to storm your apartment. We'll be sure to drive out that man in toilet paper in an hour. Call me back in fifteen minutes - if you don't hear me pick up, the team is on its way."  
  
"All right," Buck sighed. "Just be sure to come quickly - I don't think I could hold out here much longer."  
  
"Okay," Parker said as he hung up.  
  
Donovan was on the intercom, and managed to get Talmadge on the line. "Talmadge, we've got us a situation," the Navy SEAL said, impatient though drunk.  
  
"What is it, Craig?" came Talmadge's voice through the scratchy speakers.  
  
"There's a man, Buck Williams, that's being ambushed by some guy in toilet paper holding a machine gun. Buck has the Digital Conundrum disk too, Talmadge - he may be essential for solving the other code on it."  
  
There was a pause. "All right, Craig. The Panel has given us permission to rescue Buck Williams. Despite that he's press, you're to bring him here. Understand?"  
  
Donovan nodded. "Understood, Talmadge." He hung up the intercom.  
  
"So, we're going to save Buck?" Parker asked, taking a beer and slamming it down.  
  
"Sure," Donovan smiled. "Oh - and that was my beer."  
  
*Location - Buck's apartment*  
  
Fifteen minutes after calling Parker, Buck cowered underneath the computer table in his office, phone in his hands. He remembered what Parker had told him - call back in fifteen minutes. His hands shaking, Buck picked up the phone and dialed the number.  
  
The phone rang once when the sound of a door slamming open reached his ears. Machine gun fire followed, along with unintelligible shouts. Cackling electricity was then heard, the words "Snake Bandage!" nearly inaudible over the racket.  
  
And then it was silent.  
  
A man kicked down the door to Buck's office, knocking down the folders and chair. The man was dressed in black military fatigues, and a machine gun was in a hand. He looked forty, but Buck knew that some people looked older than they were.  
  
"Hey, Buck," the man said in a voice Buck recognized. "I'm Frank Parker. You safe?"  
  
Buck nodded and dusted himself off. "Yeah. Where's the guy in toilet paper?"  
  
"Oh, we just chased him off," Parker said, helping Buck to his feet. "Your apartment's a mess. You really think that guy was after the disk?"  
  
"I think so. I heard the guy's voice after my meeting with Nicolae Carpathia, the Romanian president. The guy sounded as if he wanted the disk - immediately."  
  
Another man, dressed like Parker, came up behind him. "What would the Romanian president have to do with this?" the man asked.  
  
"I don't know," Buck replied. "How about you, Parker?"  
  
"Beats me. Now come on - Donovan and I have to take you to NNL."  
  
"NNL?" Buck asked. "Where's that?"  
  
Parker's companion shrugged. "Hey - not even we know."  
  
Buck failed to notice the wink that Parker gave to his friend.  
  
*Location - Dark Ocean*  
  
Nefertimon's Rosetta Stone attack splintered into thousands of barbs when Angemon's attack struck it. Yet the attack did nothing to faze the giant digimon.  
  
"It didn't work, Takeru!" Angemon yelled. "Now what?"  
  
Takeru looked down at the ocean, finding a beacon of pink light walk silently upon the waves.  
  
Hikari.  
  
The shadows of the Hangyomon swam beneath their appointed leader, their hunting spears armed to attack the giant Dagomon. The collective cries of "Hell Dive!" could be heard, muffled by the waves. Dagomon winced in pain as the spears were driven into his body.  
  
"He's distracted!" Hikari yelled. "Attack!"  
  
Nefertimon and Angemon readied themselves for another attack.  
  
"Now!" Takeru ordered.  
  
"Rosetta Stone!"  
  
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"  
  
The attacks struck Dagomon's face, and the giant digimon crashed into the ocean with a giant splash.  
  
The Hangyomon army rose from the water, bloodied spears in hand. Their eyes, shielded with diving masks, seemed to smile with the hope of victory.  
  
"We did it," Hikari said. "We defeated Dagomon."  
  
The Hangyomon raised their spears in triumph. "Long may Queen Hikari reign!" they yelled, the sound echoing across the grayscale world.  
  
Then the Gesomon rose from the water, Dagomon behind them. Their number was more than twice that of the Hangyomon, a much larger army than Takeru and Hikari had faced in the past three months.  
  
"Hikari, I guess you celebrated too soon," Takeru said, shocked.  
  
Hikari stared out at the army that seemed to stretch across the entire ocean. "They're much larger than I anticipated," she droned over the roar of the sea. "What do we do?"  
  
"We attack!" Takeru yelled. "You have to have a plan for this!"  
  
Hikari shook her head. "I'm sorry, Takeru - I don't."  
  
"This isn't good," Angemon moaned, seeming to look out at the ocean. "We're outnumbered."  
  
"I doubt that we could hold them off," Nefertimon sighed.  
  
Takeru saw the Gesomon and their Dagomon general advance - they were almost at the bluff. "We have to try," Takeru said. "Attack them - now!"  
  
"Rosetta Stone!"  
  
"Heaven's Knuckle!"  
  
Again Angemon's attack struck Nefertimon's, creating stone grenades that struck a third of the Gesomon. The fallen enemies fell into the ocean with no more than a groan of pain. Yet the army still advanced without a will to retreat.  
  
"Hangyomon," Hikari droned, "I want half of you to swim towards the Gesomon. When in range, I want you to fire your special attacks. Understood?"  
  
The Hangyomon nodded and dived into the water. Seconds later a few more Gesomon were seen sinking into the ocean. The invading army was now at the bluff, Dagomon only a few yards away from Hikari, Takeru, and the remaining digimon.  
  
"Hangyomon, charge!" Hikari yelled, the details of the Gesomon now clear to her in the gray world.  
  
Takeru saw the surging waves of battle below and looked towards Angemon. "We have to help out too," he said, and saw the angel's nod of agreement. "Attack!"  
  
Nefertimon again was the first to fire. "Rosetta Stone!"  
  
Angemon recoiled his fist for the attack, and was ready to fire. "Heaven's...."  
  
He never finished.  
  
One of Dagomon's tentacles struck Angemon, reeling him almost to the shore of the Dark Ocean. He seemed to be dazed, but Angemon only shook his head and flew towards Dagomon, fist readied again for attack.  
  
"Angemon, are you alright?" Takeru yelled over the din of battle as Angemon flew by. He could see a spot of darkness where Dagomon had hit him.  
  
"I'm fine, Takeru," Angemon said through clenched teeth as he fired his attack. "Heaven's Knuckle!"  
  
The light struck Dagomon's face again, but this time the digimon was not affected. He pointed his dark eyes at Angemon, seeming to fire a message through them. Angemon could only stare into the dark maw, or at least it looked like he was.  
  
"You will not do that to me again, Guardian," Dagomon hissed, wrapping one of its tentacle-like arms around the angel's body. It was the first time the enemy had spoken.  
  
Nefertimon looked over at Angemon and saw him struggling to break free of the dark digimon's grip. "Takeru, we have to rescue Angemon!" she shouted, looking up at the human boy on her back. Her sessile face seemed to show some urgency.  
  
Takeru nodded. "All right. Nefertimon, fly towards Angemon and fire a Curse of the Queen at Dagomon."  
  
Nefertimon banked towards Angemon and nodded. "All right!" The crown upon her head glowed pink in preparation for the attack. When she was only a few feet away from the tentacle that held Angemon, she fired a beam of pink light.  
  
"Curse of the Queen!"  
  
The tentacle was cut cleanly off Dagomon and disintegrated in a burst of digital data. Angemon was released from his bonds, yet something seemed to still be wrong.  
  
The angel just hovered before Dagomon, arms hanging limply by his sides. Nefertimon turned to face Angemon at Takeru's command, and could only stare at him, worried. What was going on?  
  
"Angemon!" Takeru yelled out, the sounds of battle seeming to fade away. "Angemon!!"  
  
The angel did not move to acknowledge Takeru.  
  
"I don't know what's going on," Nefertimon mused. "Angemon's never been this way."  
  
"Same here," Takeru added. "Why won't he answer?"  
  
An aura of white light formed around Angemon, bringing a slight tint of color into the world of darkness. He brought his head level with Dagomon's eyes and seemed to glare at him intently. "I shall be the one to destroy you, Dagomon," Angemon whispered, his voice strangely different. It seemed to be deeper, monotonous. Nobody had heard Angemon speak that way - except for Takeru.  
  
"It's happening again," Takeru breathed, closing his eyes. "He spoke that way before - when he fought Devimon five years ago. And he had that aura about him, too...."  
  
"Guardian, why do you sound so confident?" Dagomon crooned, moving his face closer to Angemon. "What makes you believe that you are to defeat me?"  
  
Angemon did not respond, and the aura about him grew in size and intensity. Takeru had to shield his eyes just to see clearly. He looked below, and saw Hikari and the two armies staring upward, too. Takeru was so engrossed with the sight below that he was almost unable to catch the words that Angemon whispered next.  
  
"God's ... Typhoon."  
  
The white light that surrounded Angemon engulfed the whole of the Dark Ocean, blotting everything from view. Takeru, Hikari, and Nefertimon could only look away as they were blinded by the aftereffects of the attack. Soon all that was left in the realm of the Dark Ocean was silence.  
  
*Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA*  
  
Delores sat before the multiple computer consoles in the defunct apartment, basked in the blinking lights of the LCD screens. A phone was in her gloved hands, and a bowl of ramen was on the table before her.  
  
"What do you mean, you don't have the Digital Conundrum disk?" she hissed, slamming her hands on the table. "Why weren't you able to get it from Buck Williams?"  
  
Nicolae's voice trembled from the other end. "Well, you see, I did manage to trash the entire apartment-"  
  
"Imbecile! You could have destroyed the disk! That disk has all the information we need to start the Digital Conundrum!!"  
  
"Well, don't you have a backup on one of your hard drives?"  
  
"Of course I do," Delores said, brushing her white hair away from her face. "We just can't have any proof lying around for curious people to discover - like Mr. Williams."  
  
"So, what now, sweetie-pie?"  
  
Delores stood up and kicked the table, spilling the bowl of ramen over her red dress. "Don't you dare call me sweetie-pie! Do that again and I'll do more than start the Digital Conundrum!" She sighed and sat herself back in her chair. "Invite Buck Williams to your next conference and kill him there. It might do him some good."  
  
"Well, you see," Nicolae stuttered, "we might have some trouble doing that. An NSA Special Ops teams came in and fired at me while trashing Buck's apartment. I barely escaped!"  
  
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Delores shrieked.  
  
"Well ... Mr. Williams is in the custody of the NSA. But ... I did manage to copy the Digital Conundrum files from his computer. I have a backup disk right in my hands."  
  
Delores nodded and leaned back in her chair. "That's good. At least you finally did something right." She sighed. "Well, with Buck Williams in the custody of NSA ... I think I might have to start the Conundrum a little early."  
  
Nicolae gasped. "And how will you manage that?"  
  
"Easy. I get Buck and my old friend Frankie to come here. And then I trap them in the digital world, and then press the big red button. You know what happens when I press the big red button."  
  
"Oh, yeah," Nicolae said hurriedly. "But ... we haven't even placed the explosives in the Center yet."  
  
Delores smiled and glanced at one of the computer screens. This one was blotted out in white, but shapes in grayscale were starting to form. In a few seconds the forms of Hikari, Takeru, Nefertimon, and Angemon were clearly defined.  
  
"Don't worry," Delores crooned. "I'm sure that two little brats are going to lead us there."  
  
to be continued  



	3. Digital Conundrum -- Ground Zero

*disclaimer: Bible quotes were taken from the New American Bible. And yes, there is a Japanese program that allows you to translate from Japanese to that weird code they use in Digimon Adventure. Add disclaimer from parts 00 and 01 here 'cause I'm too lazy to type it in myself.*  
  
Now cut to theme song....  
  
Backstep 02  
Digital Conundrum - Ground Zero  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
It was eight in the morning when Olga knocked on the door of Parker's quarters. Parker, still drowsy from the evening rescue of Buck Williams, almost didn't hear the banging of fist on wood. "What is it?" he moaned, lethargically rising from his bed and shuffling to the door. He almost stepped on Buck, who was sleeping on the floor near his bed.  
  
"It's me, Olga," the Russian scientist crooned.  
  
Parker opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a redheaded woman wearing a gray dress and a white lab coat. Dr. Vukavitch always looked heavenly to Parker, even when drunk or drowsy.  
  
"Why, good morning to you, Dr. Vukavitch," Parker moaned. He looked down at himself; his gray tank and sweat pants were not good things to be seen in during the morning hours. Especially before Olga.  
  
But then, Olga had tolerated three years of seeing Parker in his sleepwear.  
  
"Good morning, Mr. Parker," Olga replied. "Listen - I think I may have a solution for that other code that you and Hoot-er were unable to crack last night."  
  
Parker nodded, just to contain the laughter that was threatening to rise from his mouth. Olga was never able to pronounce Owsley's college nickname correctly. "Really? Shoot."  
  
"Well, Parker, it's quite simple. The codes look like the abbreviations for Bible quotes. You know, the first part stands for the book, the first number stands for the chapter, and the numbers after the colon are the numbers for the verses."  
  
"Yeah," Parker said, dumbstruck. Here he was, an orphan raised in a Christian orphanage, and he had forgotten what a Bible verse abbreviation was! The nuns at the orphanage had drilled such things into his head when he was younger! "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"  
  
"Maybe you were too engrossed with the graphics," Olga replied sarcastically. "Now wake up Mr. Williams - you two can look for the verses together." She then walked off.  
  
Parker stuck his head out of the door and called after the scientist. "Hey! I thought that you were going to help us!" But his rant received no reply.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Dark Ocean  
Time - seven days (going on six) before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Time seemed to have no more meaning as the bright light of Angemon's God's Typhoon attack engulfed the Dark Ocean. Takeru, Hikari, and Nefertimon turned away from the blinding light, but their efforts were in vain. Darkness flooded their vision, and for what seemed like eons the blackness stayed.  
  
Seconds (minutes? hours? days?) later, the white light gradually retreated. Takeru shook his head in disbelief. Hikari rubbed her eyes. Nefertimon stared at Angemon, or at least where she and the Chosen Children remembered where he had been.  
  
The angel hovered in the sky, his body dangling in midair like a rag doll. A faint breeze whipped his hair about his body. His hands were loosing their grip on the golden staff that he always carried. Seconds later a splash was heard - the staff had fallen into the gray ocean below.  
  
"A ... Angemon?" Takeru ventured a few minutes later. "Are you all right?"  
  
No reply.  
  
Takeru looked out at where Dagomon and the Gesomon army were - or where they had been. The stench of deleted digital data reached Takeru's nose, making him look back at Angemon again. There was no doubt, though, as to what had happened.  
  
The army had been defeated.  
  
And not just the enemy battalion - some of the Hangyomon had fallen, too.  
  
Hikari looked up at Takeru, her face emotionless. "Takeru, what's wrong with Angemon?"  
  
Takeru looked at Hikari and shook his head. "I don't know. He hasn't spoken."  
  
Nefertimon looked up at Takeru. "He may just be exhausted from the battle. He'll be alright."  
  
"But if he were exhausted," Takeru argued, "then he would have reverted back to Patamon almost immediately! Something's wrong with Angemon, Nefertimon - I know it."  
  
"You just don't know what it is," Nefertimon added.  
  
Takeru nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Angemon finally gave a sign that he was still aware. He lifted his shielded head and looked towards Takeru. A sense of longing was about him, but the sheepish smile he wore could mean almost anything.  
  
"Takeru ..." he gasped raggedly, showing signs of his weakness. "I'm sorry...."  
  
And then he fell into the ocean.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hey, Buck! Wake up!" Parker roughly shook the reporter's shoulders as he harshly whispered into his ear.  
  
Buck shook his head and jumped to attention. "What? Where am I, Parker?"  
  
Parker groaned as he helped Buck to his feet. He had given him the basic cover story of NNL the previous night, and was not about to repeat it. Besides, weren't reporters supposed to have a good memory?  
  
"You're at NNL, a top-secret NSA facility," Parker explained. "We test, uh, experimental aircraft here."  
  
"Oh, yeah," Buck said abruptly. "So, why did you wake me?"  
  
Parker dragged Buck to the computer and pulled up a chair for him. "Well, my friend Olga gave me a tip as to what the other code on the disk was all about. I thought that maybe you could help out." He sat down, and Buck followed suit.  
  
"Help out? I don't know ... it's still quite early."  
  
Parker moved the mouse to clear the screen saver. The map of the Middle East graced the screen, along with a clock with a digital interface. It read eight-thirty.  
  
Buck looked at the clock in disbelief. "Oh." He looked back at Parker. "Won't we get something to eat?"  
  
Parker shook his head. "Not until we break this code. Now, Buck, could you hand me my Bible from the shelf there, please?" He motioned his head towards the large bookshelf behind him.  
  
Buck wheeled his chair over to the shelf and grabbed a musty, black leather-bound book decorated only with the words HOLY BIBLE. He moved over to Parker again and carefully placed the book on the table. "Is this the one?" he asked.  
  
Parker briefly looked down at the book and nodded. "Yeah. Now, do you know what Is 41: 25 stands for?" He pointed the mouse at the first of the two code numbers at the bottom of the screen.  
  
Buck took the Bible in his hands and flipped to a section of the book. "I think it stands for Isaiah, chapter forty-one, verse twenty-five. Here it is ... 'I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes; from the east I summon him by name; he shall trample the rulers down like read earth, as the potter treads the clay.'"  
  
Parker looked at the map, and then looked closely at the arrows that pointed at Israel. "Buck, you've noticed that the arrows on this map are coming both from the north and east. Do you think that that verse is what this attack plan was based on?"  
  
Buck nodded - Parker and Owsley had briefed him on the information they currently had on the Digital Conundrum disk. "I think so. When I was in Israel during the attack, I remember that the planes came in from north, east, and the southwest. But there's no mention of attacking from the southwest."  
  
"Maybe the other code has something about the rest of the attack plan," Parker said. "The next code is Ez 39: 4-7."  
  
Buck flipped to another part of the book. "Okay. I've got it. 'I will lead you forth with all your army, horses and riders all handsomely outfitted, a great horde with bucklers and shields, all of them carrying swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them [all with shields and helmets], Gomer with all its troops, Beth-togarmah from the recesses of the north with all its troops, many peoples with you. Prepare yourself, be ready, you and all your horde assembled about you, and be at my disposal.'" Buck shook his head in amazement. "The names of these ancient kingdoms were to the north, southwest, and east of Israel."  
  
"I think it's all a coincidence," Parker shrugged. "But the picture and the verses correspond perfectly. Yet ... why did the attack fail?"  
  
Buck looked back into the book and scanned the page. "Well, it says here that GOD would protect Israel from the invading armies by throwing hail and fire at them." He shook his head again, disillusioned. "I was in Israel during the attack, and almost immediately a hailstorm struck up. The hail destroyed all the planes and helicopters, but none of the cities."  
  
"More coincidence," Parker sighed. "It may just have been a freak hailstorm."  
  
Buck nodded. "Yeah. Could you give me the next code?"  
  
Parker typed something into the computer, and the map of the world flashed onto the screen. For the first time, even before the backstep, he looked upon the code number: Dn 7: 23-25. He repeated the number to Buck.  
  
"All right, Parker. The quote is: 'He answered me thus: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the others; it shall devour the whole earth, beat it down, and crush it. The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that kingdom; another shall rise up after them, different from those before him, who shall lay low three kings. He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law. They shall be handed over to him for a year, two years, and a half-year."'"  
  
Parker looked upon the map before him. "Ten kings rising from a kingdom that engulfs the earth.... Buck, would you think that these ten green regions here" - he pointed to the ten flashing regions - "are the territories of the ten kings mentioned?"  
  
Buck shrugged. "Maybe. But who are the holy ones of this Most High?"  
  
"Beats me." Parker looked down at the map again. "The quote mentioned something about this being the fourth beast. There has to be three beasts before that."  
  
"I'm assuming that they're great empires," Buck stated. "If this fourth one is to take over the entire world, then the other three must've gotten close."  
  
"Rome took over much of the ancient world," Parker said; "the British had quite a large empire before Gandhi, and us Americans have taken the world by storm with McDonald's and the English language. But we haven't conquered anything."  
  
"True. So this final kingdom is to control the world - but how?"  
  
Parker brought a hand to his chin and sat in thought. "Buck, remember that three years ago you interviewed that Israeli botanist - Chaim Rosenzweig?"  
  
Buck nodded blankly. "Yeah. He created that Eden Formula that made corn grow in the Israeli deserts. Why ask?"  
  
"Well, if you look at the map, you'd notice that these regions are in places in the world that don't normally support plant life - desert and tundra. Buck, did Chaim say that his formula could make plants grow anywhere?"  
  
"I think so," Buck said. "But the interview was three years ago - I'd have to check."  
  
"Let's just say, then, that this formula could make palm trees grow in the Artic," Parker scoffed. "If you could grow plants in the middle of a Russian winter, what would you do with the plants?"  
  
"I don't know," Buck shrugged. "Maybe grow enough food for the entire world."  
  
"Exactly!" Parker exclaimed. "Then the purpose of this map is for definitions of farmland - where only the formula would work!"  
  
"And if you could grow food in all of those regions ..."  
  
"Then you could end starvation ..."  
  
"Which could gain you control of the world!" Buck finished. "My god, it's a perfect plan - but the formula is protected like an Israeli military secret!"  
  
"And to weaken a military you have to fight it," Parker said. "That's probably why Israel was attacked three years ago - so that another country could gain rights to the formula. But it failed, so the formula was never released."  
  
"So then this plan is probably scrap, too," Buck said. "Now where's the next one?"  
  
Parker typed something else into the computer, and the angel with the horn filled the screen. "The next number is 1Thes 4: 16-17. Find it yet?"  
  
Buck had to flip nearly to the end of the book. "Yeah. 'No, the Lord himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living, the survivors, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.'"  
  
"Sounds strange," Parker sighed. "I haven't seen any god come down from the sky yet, and the only trumpets I've heard were those in orchestras-" He stopped talking abruptly and turned to look at the screen.  
  
" 'At the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet,'" Parker breathed, staring at the picture. "The angel must be the one mentioned in the verse, and the trumpet ..."  
  
"Must be the one that the angel blew," Buck finished.  
  
"Right," Parker sighed, burying his face in his hands. "And then people will disappear at the sound of the trumpet." He shook his head. "But how can all of this be ... if everything that occurred in the past timeline supposedly took place in a 'digital world'?"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Dark Ocean  
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Angemon!!"  
  
Takeru's cry of anguish echoed across the Dark Ocean, hanging like the tolling of a funeral bell in the air. Despairing thoughts ran through the boy's head, the images of a similar event that occurred five years ago invading his every thought. How was this to happen again?  
  
The oily darkness of the water wouldn't even yield Takeru a final glimpse of him.  
  
Nefertimon raised her face towards Takeru, but the human boy would have none of her attempted pity. "Don't look at me like that!" he yelled out bitterly, and the digimon turned away.  
  
"Takeru, I'm sorry about what happened," Nefertimon sighed, "but you didn't have to act that way."  
  
Takeru sighed and recomposed himself. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that ... I didn't think this would happen again." A tear fell from his eyes, and he immediately brushed it from his face. "Nefertimon, could you fly down to Hikari?"  
  
The digimon nodded. "Sure." She and her human passenger glided down and came to a halt before Hikari. The girl, still possessed by Light, seemed to stand on the rippling waters of the ocean.  
  
"I saw what had happened," Hikari said somberly. For the first time in three months, she sounded like the girl Takeru remembered. "I sent a Hangyomon down to retrieve him." The way Hikari said 'retrieve' made Takeru believe that she was talking about a long dead man, not a digimon that had possibly defeated Dagomon and his entire Gesomon army and had just fallen from exhaustion.  
  
Takeru, though, just nodded his head in consent. "All right." He looked down at the water, hoping to see the Hangyomon rise to the surface with either Patamon in his arms or Angemon on his back. It wasn't until a few minutes later when his question was answered.  
  
The Hangyomon's fish-like face rose from the water, a puzzled look upon his face. There was no sign of Takeru's partner anywhere about him. "Queen Hikari," he gasped, spitting the air intake mask from his mouth. "I followed the angel, as you said, but...."  
  
"What is it?" Hikari asked gently. Her voice was now that of an adult's again.  
  
The digimon stuttered, unable to find words to say. "Hikari ... I found him, but ... he fell into a hole ... a forbidden passage beneath the bluff...."  
  
"A forbidden passage?" Hikari asked, puzzled. "Why forbidden?"  
  
"Legend has it ... that it leads to the Center," the Hangyomon gasped. "Only Guardians and Chosen Children are allowed to set foot in the Center."  
  
"The Center?" Takeru asked. "The Center of what? And what would Angemon be doing there?"  
  
It was a while before the Hangyomon spoke again. "The passage leads to the Center of all the worlds, where they all combine in a small space. Legend says that time has no meaning in the Center. As for your friend...." He paused a moment. "Your partner ... he may be a Guardian. Dagomon did say something about it."  
  
"Yeah," Takeru breathed. "But a Guardian of what?"  
  
The digimon was unable to tell him, for Hikari spoke again. "You have given sufficient information, Hangyomon," she interrupted. "Is there a way for us to travel to this Center?"  
  
The Hangyomon nodded. "You could borrow our air tanks." He pulled off the two tanks that he wore on his back and tossed one each to Hikari and Takeru. The children looked at the tanks, and saw that each of them had an air intake mask.  
  
Takeru nodded as he caught the tank and looked down at it. "Thanks, Hangyomon," he muttered. "Now come on, Hikari," he said, jumping off Nefertimon's back into the cold, dark water. He placed the air mask over his mouth and dived in, only his hat bobbing on the waves.  
  
Hikari sighed and looked down at Takeru. "I wonder what makes him so worried over Angemon," she mused as she placed the air mask over her face and followed after the boy.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and the senior staff of Project Backstep sat around the large conference table in the soundproof briefing room, looking at the files on the table and the projection of the contents of a computer screen near the television. It was a little after noon, and the team, neatly dressed for the meeting, already looked as if they had stayed up all night. Even Buck Williams, who had been invited at Talmadge's request, looked drowsy.  
  
"Now, team," Talmadge stated, turning down the lights in the room, "Andrew, Parker, and Buck have managed to crack the two codes on the so-called Digital Conundrum disk. We'll have Andrew Owsley explain the first code."  
  
Owsley stood up from his chair and walked over to where the computer screen projection was reflected on the wall. He faced the staff and cleared his throat.  
  
"Well, you see, on the last two slides on the Digital Conundrum disk, there's this message that's written in a strange alphabet." The screen behind him showed a split image of both the slide with the stone and obelisk and the slide with the angel. A detail of the text appeared in a circular window. "There's a detail of the text now.  
  
"Now, this code does not correspond with the English alphabet, but with the phonetic Japanese alphabet called katakana. Coincidentally, about a few years ago, I downloaded a program from a Japanese website that had a key for this code, which is known as Digital Hieroglyph. Unfortunately, since the key translated from Hieroglyph to Japanese, I tweaked with the program to give out results in English, as seen here." The screen showed an English translation of the text on one of the screens. "The English translations are in the files down there."  
  
"Could you give us a summary of the translations, Mr. Owsley?" Isaac said, leaning on the table. His short arms were unable to reach the scattered files in the center of the long table.  
  
"Well, there is no real short way to summarize the contents of this message," Owsley explained. "Basically, the first slide tells of what that obelisk and the rock are - they're called Dark Towers and Holy Stones, respectfully. The second slide tells of the identity of this angel and the trumpet in his hands - and all the ways he could die. And apparently, if he dies, or if he blows that horn, the disappearances that Frank told of would occur."  
  
"So basically, to prevent the disappearances," Ramsey droned, "we just have to prevent this guy from dying or tooting his trumpet."  
  
Owsley nodded. "Basically, yeah. But Parker and Buck have more to add."  
  
Parker stood and walked up next to the resident nerd. "Oh, yes. There's another code that I have to tell of." The image on the screen behind him turned to that of the two maps and that of the angel. "You see, on the bottom right-hand corner of each of these slides are a code number. Each of these numbers" - the details of the numbers appeared on the screen above the pictures - "correspond with a Bible quote. For this first slide, the one of the Middle East, the quotes down here basically tell of the same thing - the attack on Israel. As you all know, Israel was attacked by Russia and two other countries three years ago - and was mysteriously unharmed. The quotes mentioned also continued to say that Israel would also be saved from this attack, and the enemy be destroyed by hail."  
  
"And I could testify to that," Buck added from his seat.  
  
"Thank you, Buck," Parker quickly said. "Now, for this next quote. This one was on the slide with the map of the world. The quote mentioned something about an empire that would crush the entire earth, and ten kings would arise from it. These ten flashing regions here could possibly be those ten principalities that the kings would have control over. And since these regions are inhospitable places, Buck and I have only one explanation as to why these areas were chosen."  
  
"And what is it, Frank?" Donovan asked.  
  
Buck stood and answered the soldier's question. "Well, you see, when Israel was attacked three years ago, I was interviewing a botanist that had created a formula that would make plants grow almost anywhere with soil. If I remember correctly, this Eden Formula could make corn grow in the Sahara or Siberia - highly desirable for Russia or a desert country. Since these regions on the map are either desert or tundra, this could only mean, then, that the formula could be used to grow crops there."  
  
"And in conclusion," Parker continued, "that would mean that these ten kings - or queens - would preside over these vast farmlands, controlling the food supply of the world."  
  
"And if you controlled the food supply of the world," Olga mused, "then you could basically control the world itself."  
  
Parker nodded his head. "Yeah. Now here's the last quote. The last one describes what would happen if this angel blew this trumpet. As you know from what Owsley explained, the disappearances would be caused when Little Boy Blue blows his horn. But the quote explains in detail who would disappear."  
  
"Who exactly will disappear, from what the quote states?" Talmadge asked, taking a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. He placed the cigar in his mouth and chewed on it nervously.  
  
"Well ... if you take the quote literally, a lot of dead people, all the children, and quite a few adults," Parker stated.  
  
"Is there anything in common with them?" Ramsey asked sarcastically. "Like blood type or brain waves?"  
  
"It most certainly isn't blood type, Ramsey, if all the children disappeared. No - the quote went on to say that these people would rise and meet this Lord in the air."  
  
"So you mean, like ... god?" Olga asked, curious.  
  
"I guess," Parker said, unsure. "Meaning that these people would be clean in the eyes of this god ... Christians, if you'd like."  
  
"So a bunch of religious freaks, corpses, and kids will be gone to 'heaven', right?" Ramsey scoffed. "God, what kind of hokey mission is this?"  
  
"It isn't hokey, Ramsey," Parker argued. "We're dealing with the disappearance of half the Backstep staff, the death of our President, and possibly the takeover of the world as we know it!"  
  
"The taking over of the world?" Talmadge roared, almost audible even beyond the walls of the soundproof room. "How did you and Buck manage to reach that point?"  
  
"Mr. Talmadge," Buck timidly said, settling himself back into his chair, "Parker and I discovered that these quotes were to tell something in a sequence. First, the invasion of Israel would fail. Then, this angel would blow this horn, making these chosen people disappear. After the disappearances, then the world would be taken over by this beastly empire." He sighed. "Do you understand?"  
  
Talmadge nodded his head and removed the cigar from his mouth. "I do, Mr. Williams. So our objectives are clear now - keep this formula and its creator safe, and find a way to stop this angel from dying and or blowing this horn he has. Dismissed."  
  
The staff started to file out of the room when Owsley spoke up. "We may have a slight problem with the latter objective, Mr. Talmadge."  
  
"And what is it?" Talmadge asked, turning to face the young man. The rest of the staff turned to face him, too.  
  
"Well ... the translations also said that this angel is in some sort of parallel dimension called the Digital World. With our technology, I don't think there's a way to reach this other world."  
  
Ramsey scoffed and shook his head. "A digital world? How much more cheesy could this mission get?"  
  
"Don't laugh, Ramsey," Parker said, putting a hand on the security chief's shoulders. "Let's listen to what the kid has to say."  
  
Ramsey shooed Parker's hand away. "Who was asking you?"  
  
"Andrew," Talmadge sighed, "you're going to have to find a way to communicate with this other world. Despite that Frank told us that the only contact we have with this digital world is six days from now, I want you to find a way, either visual or verbal."  
  
Owsley nodded. "Okay. I'll have Parker and Buck help me with it."  
  
"All right," Talmadge said. "Now let's go. Craig, set up a special ops troop and get the location of the Eden Formula's creator from Mr. Williams. Olga, Isaac, you could give input to Andrew's ideas on this trans-dimensional communications system. Ramsey, keep up communications with Craig and his team. Dismissed."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Dark Ocean (underwater)  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Takeru and Hikari dived below the oily waters of the Dark Ocean, and were shocked at the low visibility even in the shallows. Only the light given off by Hikari and their D3s penetrated the specters, and then only barely. The two children had to hold hands just to know where they were in the darkness.  
  
A few minutes later Hikari pointed at something in the distance. It was a beacon of light, perhaps a few yards away from them. Hikari looked at Takeru, her eyes seeming to ask, Should we go there?  
  
Takeru nodded and started to swim hurriedly towards the light, Hikari in tow. As they advanced upon the light, they started to see a shape take form. It was almost circular, like a passageway. And if this was a passageway, then there was a golden item lying at the bottom edge of the light.  
  
Minutes later the two Chosen Children had arrived at the source of the light. It was a large circular hole, perhaps ten feet in diameter, carved into the rock of the bluff. The hole was about eight feet beneath the water, so the children could not feel the arrhythmic crashing of the dark waves on the rocks. At the bottom of this hole was a golden staff, which Takeru took into his hands. He immediately recalled what it was, and his face turned crestfallen in realization.  
  
Hikari looked at Takeru and brought her arms around him tightly. Her sad eyes said, That's Angemon's, isn't it?  
  
Takeru nodded his head and broke the embrace. His stern face was filled with determination - and lost hope. Furiously he took Hikari by the hand and made his way through the tunnel.  
  
The tunnel took a winding, downward course through the rock, the light seeming to grow brighter with every stroke the children took. Only the drumming of their hearts in their ears and the wake of their passage echoed displaced in the water. Moments later the light grew so bright that it engulfed them....  
  
And then Hikari and Takeru stepped out of the water into a vast, circular room.  
  
The children threw down their air tanks and took a quick glance at the amount of air they had. There was barely enough left for a return trip.  
  
"Where are we, Takeru?" Hikari asked, looking around the room. The pink aura about her was gone, and her voice was childlike again.  
  
Takeru looked at Hikari, then back at the oversized staff in his hands. "This must be the Center that Hangyomon told us about," he breathed, afraid that his voice would echo in the large room. "It's so big!"  
  
Hikari nodded. "Yeah. Let's go look around. Maybe we'll find Angemon, eh?"  
  
Takeru looked away from Hikari, his mouth in an undecided pout. "Yeah, maybe," he muttered sullenly. "Let's go."  
  
Together the children walked the circumference of the room, marveling at the brilliant items that furnished the area. Upon the walls were narrow, oblong windows framed with ornately decorated silver. The windows were wide enough for Hikari and Takeru to stand side-by-side before them. Each of the windows showed a blurred image of another realm, sometimes of a city or a rural area. A few steps away from where they had started, Hikari and Takeru found a window that opened to a familiar landscape.  
  
"Hey, isn't that Tokyo?" Takeru asked, pointing at the window with the staff. A skyline marked with the Fuji Television headquarters filled the window in its entirety.  
  
Hikari nodded. "It is! And look at all the children running around! It must be summer out there!"  
  
Takeru nodded. "It sure looks like it. Now come on - if we manage to find Angemon, we could go back to the Dark Ocean, get Nefertimon, and return here so that we could go home!" For the first time after the battle, Takeru seemed to be in happy spirits - and he was in such happy spirits that he dragged Hikari across the rest of the room's circumference.  
  
None of the other windows had anything of interest to the children. Some of them had strange creatures running around, either in the air, in the ocean, or on land. An occasional few were just images of darkness, like a television screen turned off. Halfway through the many thousands of windows Hikari found one with a view of the Digital World, but there was no sign of Daisuke, the other children, or the Digimon Kaiser.  
  
It seemed like a day later when the children finally reached the portal to the Dark Ocean. No longer was it the pool of water they had emerged from - now it was a window out to the rocky bluff, with a view of an impatient Hangyomon army and a worried Nefertimon. The two air tanks were lying by the edge of the window.  
  
"I see how this works," Hikari said. "There must be certain points in all these different realms that lead to this Center. And each of these realms are represented by a window."  
  
"It looks like it," Takeru agreed. "There has to be more to this place, though, than these windows. Let's check out the center of this room." He walked away from Hikari and made his way further inside the chamber.  
  
In the center of the room was a circular pedestal made of silver, with a golden baluster built upon the edge. The pedestal encompassed most of the floor space of the Center, and it was almost three feet above the ground. Four sets of stairs were carved into the pedestal, leading to the top. Takeru climbed up the closest flight of stairs, and Hikari reluctantly followed after him.  
  
Takeru waited for Hikari to walk up to him before exploring the pedestal. It was a simple structure - a flat surface engraved with symbols along the outside edge and a strange design in the middle. Cracks in the center indicated a rising platform embedded in the floor.  
  
"I wonder what this is for," Takeru mused, turning back to face Hikari. The girl had a very uncertain look upon her face. "Hikari, what's wrong?"  
  
Hikari put her hands on Takeru's shoulders and sighed in defeat. "Takeru, we've spent quite some time in here. We would have noticed that Angemon was inside almost immediately. He isn't that hard to miss. Takeru, just listen to me this once - Angemon's probably not in here. He might not even be around anymore."  
  
Takeru shook his head furiously. "No! I won't accept that! I won't give up searching for him! Angemon is in here, and I'm not leaving the Center until I find him! I will not have him leave me again!" He threw himself away from Hikari, but too late to notice the tears that rose to the girl's eyes.  
  
"Takeru," Hikari whimpered, "what do you mean, not have him leave again?"  
  
Takeru looked down at Hikari, and saw the girl tremble before him. "Hikari, I'm sorry," he whispered calmly, taking her hand. "I didn't mean to get all angry at you."  
  
"It's all right," she sniffled, collapsing into Takeru's arms. "I know you didn't mean to." She chuckled and looked at Takeru with bright eyes. "You're just care a lot for your digimon. Trust me - I'd feel the same way if Tailmon turned up missing." She seemed to have forgotten what she had just asked Takeru moments ago.  
  
Takeru laughed. "Yeah. Maybe I am a little worried. But I'd rather find Angemon here than not be able to find him at all. Now come on - there has to be a clue here somewhere." He broke away from Hikari and made his way to the edge of the pedestal, giving him a view of the first engraving.  
  
This first one was shaped like a stylized infinity symbol, almost two feet wide. Below the symbol were the Japanese symbols for the word 'fate'.  
  
"This looks familiar," Takeru mused. "It looks like the symbol that was on the Digimental of Fate."  
  
Hikari nodded. "You're right. It does. Let's look at the others."  
  
Thirteen more symbols decorated the edge of the pedestal, all of them at an equal distance from each other. Takeru and Hikari went around the circumference of the pedestal in a clockwise fashion, looking down at each of the symbols. The next symbol was like a claw, with the word 'miracle' beneath it.  
  
"This one was on the Digimental of Miracles," Hikari said. She saw Takeru run down to the next symbol and call out the name of it.  
  
"Down here is some sort of clock face, and the word 'time' is beneath it." He ran to the next one. "And what's this? It looks like an English question mark."  
  
Hikari ran up to Takeru and looked down at the symbol. "You're right. And look - the word 'truth' is written there." She looked up at Takeru. "Do you have any clue as to what they mean, though?"  
  
Takeru shook his head. "Not yet." He walked off and looked down at the next symbol. "This one is 'spirit'. And there's some sort of cloud-like swirl engraved above it. And this next one is-" He paused.  
  
Hikari looked over at Takeru curiously. "What is it?"  
  
Takeru shook his head in disbelief. "It's the Crest of Courage. And look further down - there's Friendship. Love. Kindness - never heard of a Crest of Kindness. And there's Purity. Faith. Light. Knowledge. And ... Hope."  
  
Hikari ran to Takeru's side and looked down at the symbol that he stood before. It was the Crest of Hope, engraved lovingly into the silver of the pedestal. Unlike the other symbols, though, the Crest was shining with a green light.  
  
"Hikari ... the Crest's shining," Takeru gasped, shocked.  
  
Hikari looked up at Takeru and nodded - but then noticed something strange on the boy's chest. The Crest of Hope, which had been faintly tattooed over Takeru's heart for nearly five years, started to shine through his shirt. It hadn't shined like that for five years....  
  
The silver light of the Center died down to darkness. Only the light of Takeru's glowing heart and the shine of the Crest of Hope on the pedestal lit up the vast room. Takeru, in awe, backed away from the shining Crest and bumped into Hikari.  
  
"It's ... responded to me," Takeru gasped, looking down at his chest. "Because I ... have the Crest of Hope. But why ... only to me ... and not you, Hikari - when you stood before your Crest?"  
  
Hikari slowly shook her head. "I ... I don't know," she stuttered.  
  
The light from the crest on the pedestal grew to such intensity that it changed from green to white. Something started to take form in the light, the form of a man only a few feet taller than Takeru....  
  
The light abruptly died down, and the silver shine of the Center was restored. Takeru and Hikari rubbed their eyes, fighting the stars that invaded their vision. Minutes later they saw the form that had appeared in the light.  
  
Angemon.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Delores sat before a computer screen, a homemade explosive in her gloved hands. She looked at the screen warily. A bright light had filled her screen again, revealing those pesky Japanese children and one of their digimon in the Center. She toyed with the explosive in her hands and laughed coyly.  
  
"Those dumb children," she cackled, throwing the explosive at the computer. Instead of destroying the computer screen, though, the explosive sank inside like a pebble in water. Delores saw the bomb settle itself just a few feet behind the children.  
  
With a smile of morbid glee on her shadow-covered face, Delores picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number. As the phone rang, she whispered, "And now Buck and Frankie will see little birdies fall from the sky!"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Center  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Takeru stammered as he stared up at his digimon, shakily holding up his staff in offering towards him. "A ... Angemon," he started, "uh ... here's your, uh, staff."  
  
Angemon, though, just stood at a limp military attention, paying no attention to his partner. He did not move to acknowledge Takeru's presence.  
  
A clanging sound came from behind Takeru and Hikari.  
  
Hikari looked behind her, and saw a primitive bomb made of a clock and a few sticks of dynamite. She turned back to face Angemon, her face filled with panic. "There's a bomb in here!"  
  
At the sound of Hikari's words, Angemon slowly grasped the staff from Takeru's hands. The staff started to fall into the angel's hands, and he prepared himself to attack.  
  
Takeru looked at Angemon's fist in horror and thrust his body over Hikari. "He's going to attack!" he yelled, pushing her out of Angemon's line of fire as an arc of golden light shot out of Angemon's fist towards them. Takeru and Hikari were slammed to the ground, a red burn on the boy's arm where the light had grazed him. The cry of Angemon calling out his attack filled the room.  
  
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"  
  
to be continued  
  
~ just a little request from the author: I'd like to know if anybody's actually reading this story! Please write a review and tell me how it is! This is my first fanfic EVER and I'd like some input - especially with this cliffhanger continuation.... ~  



	4. Runabout Ways

[copy/paste disclaimer from parts one and two here. You probably know it by heart already.]  
  
[and to add to the disclaimer ... this little phone-tag game could be found in almost any cop or adventure series on television, so I won't go rattling off a long list of shows. But the Delores business I guess Seven Days fans would recognize - that's somewhat where I got the idea for DIGITAL CONUNDRUM, anyway ... hey, 'Delores' did sound a bit like Archnemon, eh? Oh well.]  
  
start 'Seven Days' theme song....  
  
Backstep 03  
Runabout Ways  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Center  
Time - approximately six days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"  
  
Takeru and Hikari, sprawled on the ground, saw the golden beam of light arch its way to the explosive in the center of the room. The bomb went off in a cloud of smoke and mechanical parts when the light hit it. The children covered their heads just to protect themselves from the flying debris.  
  
The dust settled, and Takeru and Hikari stood and dusted themselves off. Angemon was again in a military attention, but this time he was facing the children. He then spoke, but his mouth moved with his words like a badly dubbed movie.  
  
"All will be safe now, Chosen Children," he whispered in the strange voice he spoke in when he replied to Dagomon. "The danger has passed."  
  
Takeru looked down at his arm and rubbed the tender burn. "Well ... thanks, Angemon, but you could have warned us about the attack." He winced and brought his hand away from the burn. "I don't suppose this Center has a pharmacy."  
  
Angemon walked towards Takeru slowly and purposefully, his staff clanging on the metal floor with every step. The angel brought a hand to Takeru's wound, grasping the boy's arm lightly. His body started to glow with a white light, like the one that engulfs a digimon when it evolves. Takeru raised his free arm to shield his eyes, but Angemon harshly pushed the boy's arm away with his staff.  
  
Hikari advanced towards Takeru and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Angemon," she started, "what are you doing? You've already harmed your partner!"  
  
The angel rapped one of Hikari's hands lightly with his staff. "Silence," he whispered harshly. "Step away from the boy."  
  
Hikari warily backed away from Takeru and looked upon Angemon in shock. The majestic angel had forgotten the name of his own destined partner! What kind of power did the Center have on digimon? And what had it done to Angemon?  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck sat bored in Owsley's quarters, ready to nod off to an early sleep. An empty bowl of popcorn was set on the top of a comic book-covered coffee table, ready to fall off. Owsley had left the quarters for a few sodas from the nearby soda machine, and he hadn't been back for a few minutes.  
  
"Oh, when is Owls going to get back?" Parker moaned, rubbing his eyes furiously. "He said he was just going to get us some root beers."  
  
A phone on the coffee table started to ring, the computerized tone rousing Buck. The world-renowned reporter aimlessly pressed the speakerphone button, and a light on the phone turned red.  
  
"Uh, hello?" Buck said drowsily. "Who is this?"  
  
The sultry female voice on the other line was alien to him. "Oh, you're Mister Cameron 'Buck' Williams. I don't think I've met you. I'm Delores. I would like to talk to both you and Mister Frank Parker, if you don't mind."  
  
Buck stammered his reply. "Sure. Parker's here, too."  
  
Parker put a hand over his eyes and shook his head. "Not this Delores girl again," he breathed as he sat up. "What do you want, Delores?" he asked the phone.  
  
"Oh, I just want you and Buck to meet me at O'Connell's Pub and Grill in downtown Los Angeles," Delores replied. "There'll be a big price to pay if you don't."  
  
Parker sighed in defeat. "Let me guess - little birdies are going to fall from the sky."  
  
"You're telepathic, aren't you?" Delores joked. "Smarter than I thought. Well, yes ... little birdies are going to fall from the sky - and maybe a big bird or two. Remember - O'Connell's Pub and Grill. Be there at eight. And only you and Buck. Bring anyone else and I'll make the birdies fall."  
  
Parker forced a nod, and Buck just sat emotionless. "All right." He looked at his watch - it was seven in the evening, making it six in Los Angeles. "Buck and I'll be there."  
  
"Good." Delores hung up, but the familiar dial tone did not sound. Owsley's voice, though, was heard instead.  
  
"Uh, guys, you still there?"  
  
Parker nodded. "Yeah. Where are you?"  
  
Owsley seemed to be rummaging through a warehouse for words. "Well ... uh ... I'm in the ... uh, prototype airplane hangar. Yeah. I was tracing the call. Didn't get any real lock on it though, but Isaac and Olga believe that the call was jumped through inter-dimensional rifts."  
  
"Inter-dimensional rifts?" Buck asked. "But didn't you say that it was impossible?"  
  
"Well, not entirely. One of our ... uh ... experimental aircraft went through another dimension - rumor has it that it caused severe damage out here. I'll try to recreate that event as a means of communicating with this digital world so we could put an end to the disappearances that will soon come."  
  
Buck nodded blankly. "Oh."  
  
"Keep up the good work, Owsley," Parker said, rising from the couch. "Has Talmadge arranged for a ride to LA yet?"  
  
"Yeah," Owsley droned. "You'll be at LAX within the hour."  
  
"That's good," Parker said, helping Buck out of the couch. "Don't want our birdie to fall from the sky." Too late did he realize that it was a bad joke - even for someone that had already experienced the disappearances.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - O'Connell's Pub and Grill, Los Angeles, California, USA  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck swaggered into O'Connell's a minute before eight in the evening. They were dressed rather nondescript - Parker in black and Buck in clothes that would make him look akin to a jungle explorer. Nobody could tell that one was an NSA agent and the other a world-famous journalist.  
  
"It's already eight," Buck sighed. "There are so many women around here! Any one of them could be Delores."  
  
"You're right," Parker said, taking a seat by the bar. A man came with an ordering pad. "I'd like a beer, please." He looked over at Buck and saw the 'no thanks' look in his eyes. "And ... a root beer for my friend here."  
  
The barkeeper went off and soon returned with two glass bottles. Parker handed the barkeeper a ten-dollar bill before giving the root beer to Buck.  
  
"Drink up," Parker breathed, opening his beer with his thumb. "This may be the last time you get to drink one of these."  
  
Buck reluctantly opened his bottle of root beer and took a drink. "Please don't say that, Parker. You're making me more nervous."  
  
Parker took a swig from his bottle and smacked his lips. "That's why I don't drink soda during a big mission. It makes me nervous."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Center  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Takeru tried to avert his eyes from the brightly shining body of Angemon, yet how could he if the angel was holding his wounded arm so tightly and keeping his head and free arm restrained with that staff? This may have been Angemon, released from that strange Crest of Hope-shaped engraving on the pedestal, but he didn't act like the Angemon that Takeru knew. Why was Angemon behaving so ... coldly?  
  
"Angemon ... what are you doing?" Takeru breathed through clenched teeth.  
  
Angemon (?), though, only answered his partner with a light tap on the boy's cheek with his staff. "Silence, Takeru," he whispered in a monotone. "Be patient." He seemed to see Takeru close his eyes against the light. "Open your eyes."  
  
Takeru reluctantly opened one of his eyes, and the light that had engulfed Angemon immediately died down. Now a strange angel clothed in white robes stood before the boy, a gloved hand resting on Takeru's arm. His single pair of large white wings looked as if they would fill the entire room. The angel cocked his ivory miter-shielded head towards a faltering Hikari, and then looked down at Takeru again. He then spoke, his words now in unison with the motions of his mouth.  
  
"Holy ... Disinfection."  
  
Angemon - or whomever this new digimon was - slowly released his hold on Takeru's arm. The boy looked down where the bright red burn had been - it had scarred over, as it would after weeks of healing. Takeru then raised his head towards the angel with a wan smile on his lips. "Uh ... thanks," he stammered, unsure. "Who are you?"  
  
The angel, emotionless, backed away to where the Crest of Hope was engraved on the floor. White light flooded from the engraving as the angel stepped upon it, bathing his form in brightness. He then opened his mouth again, his words echoing across the large room.  
  
"I am the Guardian."  
  
And then the angel fell into a limp military attention, staring off unawares at the two children before him.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - O'Connell's Pub and Grill  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck had finished their drinks when the bartender came up to them again. He didn't have an ordering pad this time, but an urgent look was upon his face. "Is one of you Frank Parker?" he asked sullenly.  
  
Parker nodded. "Yeah. What gives?"  
  
"There's a call for you on the pay phone by the restrooms." He pointed to a brick-lined corridor by the bar. "Girl on there sounds like she needs you urgently."  
  
Parker shrugged and climbed off the barstool, and Buck rose from leaning on the bar table. "Okay. Thanks for telling us," Parker groaned. "Come on, Buck." He sauntered down to the pay phone, with Buck trying to navigate through the obstacle course of slightly drunk patrons. Minutes later the two reached the pay phone.  
  
"I knew that you two would be here," a familiar voice crooned from the other end as Parker picked up the phone. "Right on time."  
  
Parker sighed and leaned on the phone booth. "Where are you, Delores?" he barked.  
  
"Bad move, Parker," Delores whispered. "You'll find out in due time. But I can tell you that I'm not at the bar."  
  
Parker slammed his fist on the phone booth with such force that even some of the patrons looked down into the hallway. Buck sheepishly waved his hands as a cover as Parker continued to speak. Eventually the other people at the bar grew uninterested and turned away.  
  
"So how do we get to where you are?" Parker hissed into the phone.  
  
There was a pause, then, "See that window at the end of the hallway?"  
  
Parker, stunned, glanced down the other end of the hall. It ended in a brick wall, with a large, open rectangular window in it. A view of a sleepy road was all it granted, other than some frigid evening air.  
  
"Yeah, I see the window," Parker droned. "Now what?"  
  
"Oh, you and Buck just have to jump out of the window into the dumpster below." Delores seemed to give a hearty chuckle as she spoke. "There's something for the two of you inside so that I won't have to dial collect to all these phone booths."  
  
Parker warily motioned for Buck to look down out the window. The reporter obeyed, and then shook his head in shock.  
  
"There's a dumpster down there, and it's open," he groaned.  
  
"Great," Parker cursed under his breath. "What do we do with whatever we find in the dumpster?"  
  
"There'll be a note somewhere with those items that'll tell you what to do with them. I'll hear from you soon, Frankie." The click of a phone hanging up, then the drone of a dial tone came from the other end of the line.  
  
Parker hung up and walked over to the window where Buck was. "We've got to jump into that dumpster," he sighed. "You up to it?"  
  
Buck nodded his head, but the motion seemed as if it were forced. "First time for everything," he breathed as he climbed out of the window. Nobody was in the hallway or even remotely nearby to report what was happening.  
  
The window was on the second story of a building, but the distance from the dumpster to the window seemed like a mile. Buck closed his eyes as he leaped from the window. Moments later a muffled thump was heard below, and Buck's head emerged from the dumpster. Two large, yellow envelopes were in his hands.  
  
"I think these are ours," Buck called from below. "Our names are on them."  
  
Parker nodded and climbed out of the window. "Maybe. Now get out of the dumpster - I'm coming down."  
  
Buck stumbled out of the dumpster moments before Parker crashed inside. The sound of aluminum being crunched rang like bells as Parker climbed out of the dumpster and took the envelope that said PARKER in bold black letters from Buck's hands. He opened it and dumped the contents into his hands.  
  
It was a headset, much like those the phone operators wore at NNL. There was a single earpiece that fit inside the ear, and a microphone attached to it that curved down towards the mouth. Parker put it on and threw the envelope in the dumpster.  
  
Buck opened his envelope and found not only a headset, but also a square piece of paper with scrawled writing on it. It read, "Go to the abandoned lot two blocks north from here. More instructions will be given when you arrive."  
  
Buck put the headset over his head and threw the envelope into the dumpster. The note he handed over to Parker. "You think we should do this?"  
  
Parker glanced at the note before wadding it up and tossing it inside the dumpster. "If we're going to stop a few hundred local flights from crashing, then I guess we should." He started to run out to the street, and then stopped at the corner. A moment later he motioned for Buck to follow, and the two men promptly ran across the street.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Delores sat in a darkened room before an array of computer screens that displayed various images. A bowl of ramen was on her lap, and on occasion she would dip her chopsticks inside and slurp up the noodles.  
  
Currently, though, the mysterious woman was chewing on her chopsticks as she stared at one of the screens. This one was of the Center, with the pesky Japanese 'Chosen Children' standing warily before the Guardian. There was no sign of the bomb she had planted there.  
  
"Good - it doesn't seem that the brats notice," she chuckled through the chopstick in her mouth. "Now let's see how President Carpathia is holding up." She swiveled her chair to glance at another computer, taking care not to spill her ramen - her dress was still terribly stained from the previous night's incident.  
  
Nicolae Carpathia, despite the late hour in New York, was holding a meeting with ten of the top representatives of the United Nations. The renowned botanist Chaim Rosenzweig, the creator of the so-called Eden Formula, was also present. Nicolae's words of "We shall unite the world as a Global Community" were faintly heard through the speakers.  
  
"Well done, Nicolae," she whispered, turning to the next screen. "Maybe you have some use in the Conundrum after all. Now how are Frankie and Buck doing?"  
  
The last screen showed the abandoned lot that she had instructed Buck and Parker to go to. The men were there now, staring up at two objects hanging from the hook of a crane.  
  
Delores took her ramen and set it on the table before leaning over to a microphone. "Frankie, Buck - can you hear me?" she called in her sultry voice.  
  
Parker's voice cackled through the speakers. "Yeah, we can. What now?"  
  
Delores slurped up some ramen as she spoke. "You see those things hanging from the crane?"  
  
This time it was Buck who replied. "Yeah, we do."  
  
"You have ten minutes to retrieve them. They're palmtop computers, and they have directions as to where to go next. Now hurry up - time's a-wasting."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - an abandoned lot in Los Angeles  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Buck gasped in shock. "Ten minutes to get two palmtop computers from the top of that crane! How are we going to manage that?"  
  
Parker gave a sly grin and ran to the crane's control cabin. "Simple. All we have to do is bring the hook part of the crane crashing down to our level. Now come on - I have a plan."  
  
Buck shrugged. "All right. What am I going to do?" He followed after Parker.  
  
"You stand a little off from directly beneath the hook of the crane," Parker said, climbing inside the cabin. "I lower the hook. Then you take the computers."  
  
Buck nodded and backed away from the cabin. "I've got it," he called. "Is out here good enough?"  
  
Parker nodded and settled himself in the cabin's chair. An array of levers littered the control panel before him. He pulled one down, and the cable that held the hook lowered to the ground at an exceedingly sluggish pace. The machinery squeaked with strain and neglect at five-second intervals.  
  
A minute later Buck held up his hand in a halt signal. Parker craned his head out of the cabin, and saw that the two palmtops were at level with Buck's waist.  
  
"Good job, Buck," Parker called as he climbed out of the cabin. Buck tossed one of the palmtops to him, and then took the other from the hook.  
  
The miniature computers were of a strange make - they resembled oversized stopwatches, minus the nylon used to string it around one's neck. A raised part of it was circular, enclosing an oversize square screen. The edge of the raised portion was engraved with Digital Hieroglyphs. Three buttons - two small ones on the right side, and a large one on the left - flanked the raised area. An antenna, like one on a cell phone, stuck out from the raised section.  
  
The strange thing about the device, though, was that it seemed so ... familiar.  
  
"Good work, guys - you did it quicker than I thought." Delores' voice cackled through Parker and Buck's headsets again. "Now follow the directions on your digital devices and go to the Corner Bookstore five blocks from here."  
  
Parker and Buck looked down at the screens of their devices. A grid with faint red dots was displayed, along with a blue star in a corner.  
  
"I guess that blue star is where we have to go," Buck sighed. "Come on."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Corner Bookstore  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
It was almost nine in the evening when Buck and Parker reached the Corner Bookstore. The store was a modest establishment, situated in a three-story brick building that was on a street corner. Despite the late hour, a few bookshelves were still out in the street.  
  
"So, what are we supposed to do here?" Buck asked, looking up the side of the building. A few windows on the higher levels were lighted from inside, giving view to people eating a late dinner.  
  
"Good question, Buck," Delores' voice crooned again from the headsets. "You and Frankie have to take the fire escape to the roof. You'll find two backpacks with what I'd like to call ... oh, survival equipment. You have fifteen minutes, or else the next big news you hear is the airplane that's about to crash land over your heads."  
  
Parker groaned and walked off to an alleyway behind the building. "Climbing a fire escape may take more than fifteen minutes. Come on, Buck." He found the rungs of a fire escape above his head, near a closed dumpster. Grudgingly Parker climbed on top of the dumpster and took hold of the ladder, making sure to shove his digital device in his pants pocket.  
  
When Buck saw Parker on the second-story level of the fire escape, he clambered to the top of the dumpster and climbed the fire escape after him. Moments later the two were at the top of the building, looking out at the street.  
  
"Now where are those backpacks?" Parker groaned, taking his digital device from his pocket. Buck did the same. A new blue dot glowed on the screen, nearly on top of the red dots that stood for the men.  
  
Parker then looked down at his feet. Two military-issue backpacks were before him and Buck. "I guess we've found them," he said, taking one and slinging it over his shoulders. He clamped his digital device to a strap.  
  
Buck grabbed the other and placed it on his back. "Looks like another job well done. But what do you think are in these?" He shoved his digital device in a pants pocket and looked at Parker.  
  
"Beats me. We don't have time to check."  
  
Momentarily Delores' voice was heard from the headsets. "That was an excellent job, Frankie and Buck. You did it in ten minutes. That gives you more time to reach where I am."  
  
"And where's that?" Parker asked, yelling into the microphone of his headset.  
  
"Ah! Not so loud! You're ruining the speakers!" Delores yelled. Clattering was heard in the background. "Now look - you made me spill my ramen. Well, anyway, Frankie, all you have to do is follow this makeshift bridge I constructed especially for you. It's the laundry line behind you that leads to the abandoned apartment complex. You and Buck have to use the laundry line as a bridge. See you in twenty minutes!"  
  
Parker and Buck turned around, gaining view of a half-demolished brick building across the alley from them. A laundry line, laden with sheer nightwear, was strung between the two buildings, gaining access to the fire escape on the third level of the abandoned building.  
  
Buck groaned and slammed his hand on his forehead. "Don't tell me we have to walk across that."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Delores stood up and stared down at her red dress. Two consecutive ramen spill stains in the exact same place! There was no way this stain was going to come out.  
  
Though wary to leave her computers behind, Delores marched off to another room. Moments later she emerged with a clean dress, a clone of her previous one. She was about to walk into the computer room when a familiar form caught her sunglass-hidden eyes.  
  
It was Nicolae Carpathia.  
  
"Now, how did you get here so quickly?" Delores snapped at the Romanian in power suit and tie. "It's a six hour flight from here to New York."  
  
"But it is a six second jump via computer," Carpathia countered, approaching Delores. "You forget - we are digimon, not human."  
  
Delores sweatdropped and giggled nervously. "Oh, yeah. So ... how are things going at the UN?"  
  
Carpathia sighed and walked towards the computers. "Same old, same old. Had a meeting with the ten I have chosen to lead after the Conundrum. Even got hold of Chaim Rosenzweig - a miracle I did, with that Special Ops team guarding him like a military secret. He has agreed to give me the rights to Eden Formula for the allotted seven years."  
  
Delores smiled gleefully, and then took her seat by the computers. One screen showed the Japanese brats still staring at the Guardian; another gave view to a laundry line filled with women's underwear; the last was of the empty United Nations conference room. A clock by one computer started to beep - Buck and Parker's allotted twenty minutes were up.  
  
"It looks like Buck and Parker aren't going to see tomorrow," Delores sighed. She swiveled her chair to another table, this one with a computer screen decorated with the words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM. A red button beside the monitor flashed on.  
  
"And now it's time to bring about Apocalypse," she snickered, pressing the button.  
  
A message flashed on the screen of the computer: EXPLOSIVE NOT CONNECTED. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.  
  
Carpathia leaned over the table to view the monitor that displayed the Center. He pressed a few buttons on a keyboard, gaining a wider view of the area. "Lovebunkins," he crooned, "your explosive has gone off a little bit too early."  
  
Delores angrily scooted herself before the computer, shoving Carpathia out of her way. "You're right!" she gasped. "It's gone! Darn Guardian and Chosen Children! They always meddle in our plans!"  
  
"I hope you haven't forgotten about us, Delores."  
  
The mysterious voice caused both Nicolae and Delores to turn away from the computer. In the doorway were two figures - Frank Parker and Buck Williams. They both had handguns pointed at the computers.  
  
"We heard the entire conversation," Buck growled. "You, know, maybe I should resign from my post as Nicolae's publicity manager."  
  
Nicolae slowly raised his hands over his small head. "Uh, you know, Mr. Williams, that would be a very bad idea, considering that you have not done a thing for me yet. You know, I even gave you the wrong CD."  
  
"Yeah, sure, we both knew that," Parker growled. "Now then, Nicolae and Delores - or should I say, the digimon duo - come out with your hands up, and keep any weapons where we could see them."  
  
Nicolae seemed to pause for a moment. "Oh, so you mean this weapon?"  
  
A large machine gun materialized in the Nicolae's hands, pointed towards Buck and Parker. As he revealed the weapon, Nicolae's body flashed with a gray burst of light. When it died down, the form of a man with skin the pallor of the deceased took his place.  
  
The strange thing about this man, though, was that he was covered in toilet paper like a badly wrapped Egyptian mummy.  
  
Buck lowered his gun and turned to face Parker. "Uh, Frank," he stammered, "that's the guy that demolished my apartment a few days ago!"  
  
Parker didn't ease down his firearm, but he could only stare at the transformed Nicolae. "Great - so Nicolae's dark side trashed your pad," he groaned. "Got any plans?"  
  
Nicolae aimed his machine gun at Parker and pulled the trigger. "Snake Bandage!"  
  
Parker ducked as a beam of crimson and white electricity arched over him. He pushed Buck further down a hallway, running farther from the rampaging mummy. "Let's get out of here!"  
  
Buck and Parker hurriedly ran down the shambles of the hall, occasionally ducking from the beams of electricity that Nicolae fired. Minutes later the end of the hall started to glow with a semi-fluorescent light.  
  
"We're almost out," Buck panted. The weight of the heavy backpack was taking its toll on his running. "You think we can outrun Nicolae?"  
  
Parker chuckled; he seemed to show no strain from the weight on his back. "I didn't know that anyone would want to run from him."  
  
"Well, at least we have a reason."  
  
Parker then suddenly halted. Buck nearly ran into him, and saw why he had stopped.  
  
The floor ended in a band of thick support wires. All that was left was a steel framework of the building, and a stack of sandbags fifty feet below.  
  
"This doesn't look good, Frank," Buck breathed, looking down at the long drop. Nicolae's pounding footsteps were growing closer, and another beam of electricity raced by Buck.  
  
"There is nowhere for you to run from Mummymon!" Nicolae roared, firing beams of electricity from his machine gun. "Snake Bandage!"  
  
Parker and Buck ducked from the crackling electricity that arched over their heads. "We have to jump!" Parker yelled over the din. "The sandbags aren't that far away!"  
  
Buck's eyes widened in shock. "What? Are you crazy?"  
  
"We have to! Come on!" Parker shoved his firearm into a hidden holster about his waist and grabbed Buck's free arm. The two leaped off the floor, headed for the sandbags below.  
  
Nicolae (Mummymon?) stopped at the edge of the floor, and saw the two human men fall to the ground. He aimed his machine gun at the pile of sandbags below, and pulled the trigger.  
  
"Snake ... Bandage!"  
  
An arc of electricity raced down to the sandbags, exploding them in a burst of gravel and sackcloth. Buck and Parker shielded their eyes from the blast as sand rushed towards their bodies. Moments later the dust settled, but the sandbags were nowhere to be found.  
  
Instead, a whirlpool of mud wound its way into the ground, giving way to a dark hole. There was no glimpse of where it would lead.  
  
"Oh no, this is not good," Buck whimpered, shielding his eyes with his free arm. "We're going to die, Parker!"  
  
Parker closed his eyes and shook his head. "We are so screwed," he cursed as the two fell into the sinkhole.  
  
Immediately after their bodies sank into the ground, the whirlpool collapsed upon itself. All that was left was a pile of gravel where a stack of sandbags had been.  
  
Above, the digimon that was formerly known as Nicolae Carpathia snickered evilly. "It looks like they will not meddle in the Conundrum anymore," he hissed as he crept away.  
  
to be continued  



	5. Scrambled Digital Eggs, Anyone?

[copy/paste disclaimer here.]  
  
{the story now has starting and ending songs - they are DIGIMON ADVENTURE songs, and they are copyright of their owners, not me. I'm using them for fun!}  
  
"VERSION UP" and starting animation begins....   
  
Backstep 04  
Scrambled Digital Eggs, Anyone?  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - somewhere in the Digital World  
Time - approximately six days (almost five) before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken were camping out by a tree in an unknown location of the Digital World, their digimon beside them. It was a calm, cloudless night, lighted only by the screens of the D3s and a small campfire.  
  
"The sky looks so calm," Ken sighed, staring at the strange constellations in the evening sky. He leaned against the large tree, and felt Wormmon crawl onto his lap.  
  
"Ken, it's late," Wormmon whispered. "Daisuke and the rest are already asleep. You should go rest, too. I'll keep watch."  
  
Ken shook his head and looked down at his partner. "Nah. I'll stay here and help keep watch." He took Wormmon in his arms and stood up. "You could tell me if you see anything suspicious."  
  
Wormmon nodded his head and scurried on his clawed legs. "Alright. Hey, look here, Ken - a walking stick!"  
  
Ken bent down and picked up the stick-like insect Wormmon had noticed. "It's just an insect, Wormmon," he chuckled, placing the struggling insect on the tree. "It won't harm us."  
  
"Well, you did say look for anything suspicious," Wormmon sighed.  
  
"Yeah, that's true." Ken looked back up at the sky. Two shootings stars sped across the heavens, seeming to fall far away from the Chosen Children's campout. They were strange stars, almost like spaceships entering the atmosphere of a planet. There were two human men, seemingly American, both enclosed individually by shields of heat. Upon one's backpack and another's waist was a digivice, the screen glowing green.  
  
Ken rubbed his eyes, and the two strange stars disappeared.  
  
Yet Ken could not deny that two humans had entered the Digital World.  
  
Or at least it looked so.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - some place near the Chosen Children's camp, Digital World  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck opened their eyes gingerly, and then rubbed them as if drugged. They had blacked out after entering the strange wormhole in Los Angeles, and now they felt as if a steamroller had gone over them multiple times. And maybe one had while they were out.  
  
"What the heck happened?" Buck groaned, sitting up. He rubbed the back of his neck tentatively. "At least the backpack protected our backs."  
  
Parker nodded and slowly got to his feet. "You're right about that. But where exactly are we?"  
  
The men were outside, at the edge of a forest plunged in evening darkness. A cave carved in mountain rock was just behind the men, framed by boulders and struggling pine seedlings.  
  
Buck stood up and sighed. "I have no idea. For all I know, we're in Yosemite." He started to walk into the cave and settled himself near the entrance. "And these backpacks have camping equipment."  
  
"Could be," Parker stated, following Buck into the cave. "Now let's get some rest. If we're in Yosemite, we know that no bears are going to attack us."  
  
"Thank god for park rangers," Buck yawned. He removed his backpack and placed it behind his head like a pillow. Seconds later he was snoring.  
  
Parker removed his backpack, and then unclamped the strange digital device from the strap. He stared at the screen - instead of a grid-like map, a lime-green glow filled it in its entirety. Parker pressed a button, regaining the map, marking only his presence and Buck's. "Nothing new there," he sighed, pressing another button.  
  
This time's Owsley's bewildered face greeted him.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Andrew Owsley had been seated before his computer since Parker and Buck had left for Los Angeles, trying to find a way to contact the mysterious digital world mentioned on the Digital Conundrum disk. He had had no real success in the past three hours. Once he had managed to tap into some Japanese personal palmtop device called a Digivice version D3, but had only called up the video images of six Japanese children. The children were staring at the screen back at Owsley, but were either speaking in Japanese or sleeping. Owsley held up signs, even yelled - but the children didn't seem to notice or understand English.  
  
Moments later Owsley tapped into an earlier version of the Digivice - the Prime Digivice. The lives of six more Japanese children were displayed on the screen - and none of them paid attention or seemed to understand him.  
  
"Great," he sighed after attempting to communicate with the last of the children - a kid named Mimi Tachikawa. "I thought the Japanese were taught English at their age." He was about to close the Prime program when two more names flashed onto a list. Owsley scrolled down to the bottom and, puzzled, looked at them.  
  
"Francis Parker and Cameron Williams?" Owsley gasped. "That can't be right." He double-clicked on Buck's name, and the video screen above the list showed Buck sleeping on a hiking backpack. No use trying to talk to him.  
  
Owsley then clicked on Parker's name, calling up a window of the chrononaut. Parker seemed to stare straight at the young computer genius through the screen. "Scooter?" he called out, his words also on a caption below his image. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Owsley gasped and shook his head. "What do you mean, Parker?"  
  
"You know what I mean," Parker whispered harshly in reply. "You're communicating with me through this strange digital device that I have! How did you do it?"  
  
Owsley could only shrug. "I don't know. I just tapped into a Japanese program called Digivice Prime. It translates whatever the bearer of a Digivice Prime or a Digivice version D3 says into whatever language, but not what a little hacker like me babbles. Parker, where are you and Buck?"  
  
"I don't know," Parker hissed. "I was hoping you could tell me! For all I know, we're in Yosemite!"  
  
Owsley looked elsewhere on his computer monitor for some sort of clue. "Well, on my screen there's a list of all the users of Digivice Prime, the window where your picture's at, and - here it is! There's a map and a locator of all Digivice Prime and D3 users in your area. You're-" He paused. Shocked, he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Uh, Parker, you and Buck are...."  
  
"Where?" Parker nearly yelled out. "Don't keep me hanging!"  
  
It took Owsley a while to get over his astonishment, but his eyes turned to dots as he spoke. "Parker, you see, you, Buck, and four other Digivice D3 users are in a place called the Cave-Ridden Mountains ... in the Digital World."  
  
Parker sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "The Digital World? Owsley, you've got to be kidding me. This Digital World that was mentioned on the Digital Conundrum disk - Buck and I are in it?" He broke into laughter again. "You'd better double-check your information, Scooter."  
  
"I'm not kidding!" Owsley exclaimed. "You and Buck are in the Digital World! I don't know how, but you are." He paused for a moment, then: "You know, I should tell Talmadge about this. He'll be glad that we finally have physical contact with the Digital World."  
  
Parker sighed, exhausted. "Yeah. So what do you want me to do - wait for orders?"  
  
Owsley shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe you should seek out this Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope and tell him not to toot his horn. If that doesn't work, then at least find this Center or these Holy Stones and try to protect those areas. You know that if you can't find a way to stop the disappearances, we can't backstep - we don't know how to get you and Buck back here."  
  
"But you have Donovan - can't he backstep for us?"  
  
"Parker, you're the only one certified to backstep - Donovan's scores are still less than par." He yawned. "I'll tell Talmadge about this Digivice program, then find a way to bring you back when we need you to." Owsley then walked out of his quarters, but not before seeing Parker settle himself down on his hiking backpack.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Buck and Parker's camp in the Digital World  
Time - five days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Buck awoke the next morning to find Parker roasting a few finger-sized Vienna sausages over a portable gas stove. He groggily awoke, took his digivice from a pocket, and made his way to the fireside.  
  
"Well, good morning, Frank," Buck yawned. "I see you got breakfast ready."  
  
"Courtesy of Delores and the Romanian government," Parker laughed, taking a sausage fresh off the stove. "They're fully cooked, Buck - take one."  
  
Buck warily grabbed a sausage and threw it into his mouth. "Not bad, Frank." He looked back at the cave entrance, then at the strange trees that grew before it. "Have you figured out where we are yet?"  
  
Parker nodded, but his eyes didn't agree with his message. "According to Owsley back at NNL, we're in some place called the Digital World." He took another sausage from the stove and bit into it. "But then, Owsley's had a good twelve hours to double-check his Intel. He'll call us in a while."  
  
As if on cue, Parker's digivice started to beep. Throwing the rest of the sausage into his mouth, Parker took the digivice for his pocket and pressed a button. Owsley's face, along with Talmadge's and the rest of the Backstep senior staff, filled the screen.  
  
"Hey there," Parker said energetically. "How's it going?"  
  
"Parker," Talmadge said, "I'm glad that you and Buck gained contact with the Digital World. How exactly did you two manage to do so?"  
  
Parker brought a hand to his chin and sat in thought. "Well, you see, Bradley, it's a long story. This Delores girl from the past timeline, she ... kind of invited me and Buck to Los Angeles. She indirectly brought us to her apartment, where we met her and Nicolae Carpathia-"  
  
"You met President Carpathia?" Nathan Ramsey exclaimed, interrupting Parker. "Wow - he's one of my heroes! Did you get any souvenirs from him?"  
  
Parker narrowed his eyes skeptically. "Ramsey, you need some new heroes. Nicolae just happened to be the one that trashed Buck's apartment! And to top that, he transformed into some sort of creature named 'Mummymon' and attacked us!"  
  
Ramsey, apparently trusting Parker for one of the very few times he did, regained his composure and backed away from the screen. It was Talmadge that spoke next.  
"What happened after Nicolae attacked you, Parker?"  
  
"Well, after that," Parker continued, "it kind of gets hazy. First thing I know, we're being chased after by a crazed mummy, and then we fall by a cave entrance!" He sighed. "Things are quite screwed up now."  
  
"They'll be even more screwed up if you don't prevent the disappearances," Talmadge scolded. "You and Buck have less than five days to prevent them from happening. Owsley is still trying to find a way to bring the two of you back here if you fail or succeed. You know that we have no way to backstep and undo all of this - again - if this doesn't work."  
  
Parker nodded. "Yeah. Owsley's going to keep in touch?"  
  
"I will, Frank," Owsley droned.  
  
"All right, Frank," Talmadge sighed, "the world is depending on you."  
  
"Again," Parker added sarcastically.  
  
"There'll be a victory beer when you two get back," Donovan laughed, flashing a thumbs-up. "Oh yeah - we tried to guard Dr. Rosenzweig, but Nicolae found a way to woo the good doctor. The Eden Formula's out of our hands."  
  
"So this is even more urgent," Talmadge stated. "Be sure to find a way to protect the Guardian, the Stones, or that Center. Godspeed, Frank."  
  
Parker gave a mock salute. "Same here."  
  
And the digivice screen went blank.  
  
Buck looked at Parker as the other man shoved the digivice into his pockets. "Uh, Frank," he ventured, "what exactly did your friends mean by 'backstep' and 'previous timeline'? Does this have to do with your experimental aircraft?"  
  
Parker sighed and took another sausage. "Buck, we don't test experimental aircraft at NNL. Heck, half of the people there aren't even test pilots."  
  
"Then what do you really do?"  
  
"Well, Buck, what I'm about to tell you is the most top secret information in the United States military. You have to promise not to tell anyone. Okay?"  
  
Buck nodded. "Yeah. You have my word. And unlike other journalists, I won't break it." He stared down Parker from across the stove. "Tell me."  
  
"All right. Buck, have you ever made a major mistake and want to live that moment again, just to have things go differently?"  
  
Buck was taken aback by the question. "Sure. Why?"  
  
"Buck, I've been doing it for three years." The reporter was about to interrupt him, but Parker held up his hands in protest. "You see, Buck, I'm part of a top secret organization that's experimenting with time travel."  
  
"Time travel?" Buck gasped. "Isn't that impossible?"  
  
"Well, not really. I don't know the exact workings, but I've done it." He paused to regain himself, but Parker was still nervous when he continued. "But anyway, whenever something gets really screwed up, I'm the lab rat the government sends back in time to fix things. There's just one catch."  
  
"And what's that?" Buck asked, bringing his voice down.  
  
Parker bent his head as close as he could to Buck and whispered his response.  
  
"I could only go back seven days."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Chosen Children's camp  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Daisuke clumsily rose from the ground and stretched his arms, not seeming to notice the nettles that clung to the back of his jacket. "Good morning, everyone!"  
  
The other Chosen Children sat up and rubbed their eyes as the digimon moaned groggily. "Same here, Daisuke," Miyako yawned, cleaning her glasses.  
  
"What's to eat?" V-mon chimed, jumping around Daisuke. "I'm hungry, hungry, hungry!"  
  
Daisuke sweatdropped and laughed. "Well, you see, we didn't bring anything to eat. Not even some sushi."  
  
The group hung down their heads and sighed. "Just great," Miyako groaned. "The one day Daisuke chooses to bring meals, and he forgot."  
  
"Remind me not to have him volunteer for catering," Iori droned.  
  
Ken, who was keeping watch, rejoined the group. His D3 was in his hands, and his was staring at the screen intently.  
  
"Guys, I think there's two more people in our area," he stated.  
  
"Where?" Daisuke asked energetically, forgetting about the food problem.  
  
"It looks like they're just a few miles south of us." He held up his D3 for the group to see. True to his word, there were two red dots clumped together a few grid boxes south of the group.  
  
"I hope they're Hikari and Takeru," Iori said. "We haven't seen them since our adventure in America a few months ago."  
  
"Yeah!" Daisuke cheered. "Let's go, V-mon!" He ran off south, V-mon chasing his heels.  
  
"Here we go," Miyako moaned, carrying Hawkmon in her arms. Iori, Ken, and their digimon followed soon after.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - an apartment in Los Angeles  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Delores and Nicolae were eating their breakfast of instant ramen when they heard Parker and Buck's voices again on the computer speakers.  
  
"I thought that Buck and Parker were killed in the fall!" Nicolae gasped in disbelief, slamming his bowl of ramen on a table. "This can not be possible!"  
  
"It's true, all right," Delores groaned. "They're talking about some sort of ... time travel."  
  
"Time travel? I thought it was impossible."  
  
"Well, I guess Parker and the staff at NNL figured it out. You know what this means."  
  
"And what is that?"  
  
"We're going to have to destroy this time machine that they have. Destroy the time machine, and then there'll be no way to stop us - or the Conundrum."  
  
"But NNL is an NSA compound. Will we not be found out by the government?"  
  
"Oh, come on - we're digimon! The United States government can't punish us! Now, if you excuse me, I have another explosive to make." Delores stood up from her chair, not realizing that her bowl of ramen was still on her lap. Her ramen spilled over her dress again - in the same spot that was stained on her other dress.  
  
"Argh!" she growled. "Why does this always happen when I eat ramen?"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Buck and Parker's camp  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Buck and Parker heard a crackling on their earphones that Delores had given them. In the midst of static interference, they could hear Delores and Nicolae speak about ... something.  
  
Nicolae - "Time travel? I thought it was impossible."  
  
Delores - "Well, I guess Parker and the staff at NNL figured it out. You know what this means."  
  
Nicolae - "And what is that?"  
  
Delores - "We're going to have to destroy this time machine that they have. Destroy the time machine, and then there'll be no way to stop us - or the Conundrum."  
  
Parker ripped off his headset and yanked Buck's from his head. "They overheard our conversation," he growled, tossing the headsets onto the portable gas stove.  
  
"And I guess that isn't a good thing," Buck sighed.  
  
"Of course not! Buck, those two crazy digimon know about the time machine at NNL! If they destroy it, then there's no way to go back in time and undo this!"  
  
Buck nodded. "Alright." He stood up and faced the cave. "Just one thing, Frank. When you first called me, you told me about the Digital Conundrum disk as if I already knew what it was. Why me, Frank?"  
  
Parker sighed and hit his head on his fist a few times. "You see, Buck, in a previous timeline, these disappearances had already occurred. On that day, I was sitting next to you on a jet destined for London. We both saw a movie on the Internet that had an angel blow a trumpet, which sequentially brought about the disappearances." He looked up at Buck, whose back was turned to him. "The disappearances brought about many casualties - among them the President and Vice President of the US. In order to prevent these disappearances from happening again, I was sent back to America so I could travel back seven days before the event. But before that, you showed me the Digital Conundrum disk - and made a copy of it for me."  
  
Buck turned back to face Parker. "So that's why you called me. You thought I knew something about the disk."  
  
Parker nodded. "Basically, yeah."  
  
The digivice in Parker's pocket started to beep annoyingly again. Parker pulled it from his pocket and pressed a button. Owsley's drowsy face greeted him.  
  
"Hi there, Parker," Owsley droned. "Anything new?"  
  
"Not really," Parker said, smiling. "Just overheard from Delores and the gang that they're planning to do away with the Sphere."  
  
Owsley sighed. "Let me guess - you blabbed."  
  
"Well, I didn't know that the headset I wore doubled as an open-channel two-way radio! I was just telling Buck about the Sphere, and then I hear the two digimon talking about blowing up NNL!"  
  
Owsley nodded and typed something on his keyboard. "All right. I'll just tell Talmadge this, and then we'll do something about it."  
  
"Okay." He looked back at Buck, who was staring down at his digivice. "Why exactly did you call us so soon?"  
  
"Well, Parker, I called you because I got two new bogies on the display screen. They're not identified as Digivice users. Have Buck get here and set the digivice for map-grid mode."  
  
Parker motioned for Buck to come to him. The reporter made his way down and looked questioningly at Parker. "Frank?"  
  
"Could I see your digivice for a sec?"  
  
Buck turned the digivice for Parker to see. It was already in map-grid mode, showing two flashing blue stars near their location.  
  
Parker turned back to his digivice. "Owsley, were you talking about the blue stars? We have two flashing blue stars near our location."  
  
Owsley nodded. "Yeah. Databank here says that they're Digimentals of Truth and Time. They're in the cave that's behind you two."  
  
"And what do you want us to do?" Parker asked sarcastically. "Go look for them?"  
  
"I would assume so. They may help you two find a way back here in case things get screwed."  
  
Parker nodded. "Okay. You keep in touch?"  
  
"Yeah." Owsley logged off, his face blinking off the screen in a flash of light.  
Parker pressed a button on his digivice, calling up the grid map. The two flashing blue dots were behind him, according to the grid.  
  
"We're going to go into that cave," he said gamely, calmly walking inside. "Come on, Buck."  
  
Buck looked down at the two backpacks and the steaming gas stove beside his feet. "What about our stuff? Won't a bear get at them?"  
  
"Are you kidding?" Parker laughed. "No, of course not! They'll be safe out there. Now come on - we may have an opportunity to come and return as we please."  
  
Buck sighed and sullenly followed Parker into the cave. "Fine," he droned, brushing his long bangs from his face.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Buck and Parker's camp, a few minutes later  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Though Daisuke and V-mon were the first to run out towards where the strange D3 readings emitted from, Miyako and Hawkmon were the first to arrive on the scene. Iori, Armadimon, Ken, and Wormmon followed immediately behind them. The camp before them brought sparkles to their eyes.  
  
"It's ... an abandoned camp!" Miyako cried out in glee.  
  
"They must have food of some sort in the backpacks!" Iori gasped.  
  
"It's a bonanza of survival equipment!" Ken drooled.  
  
"I'm hungry...." Daisuke and V-mon groaned in unison behind their friends. They had limped up behind the group unawares, tongues lolling out of their mouths and hands wearily on their stomachs.  
  
"If you two were so hungry," Miyako scolded, "then you should have at least not have run out at breakneck speed out here! It takes more energy to run than to eat!"  
  
Daisuke and V-mon sweatdropped and crumpled slowly to the ground, both with dumbstruck expressions crossing their faces. "Just get us something to eat," they moaned, more or less in unison.  
  
Armadimon scampered off to one of the backpacks and opened the main compartment. After a few minutes of burying his muzzle into the bag, he crawled out with two cans in his clawed forefeet.  
  
"Look! Vienna sausages!" he cried out.  
  
Before you could say DIGIMENTAL UP, Daisuke and V-mon ran to Armadimon and snatched the cans from his hands. The gluttonous boy and digimon made a show of opening the cans and shoving the finger-sized sausages into their mouths.  
  
"Hey, hey, you two," Armadimon warned, waving his forelimbs before his face. "There's enough in there for each of you to have a can or more!"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the cave behind Buck and Parker's camp  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck were surprised that the trail through the cave seemed so well trodden. The dirt was packed hard, with hardly a rock disturbing the path. Light streamed through the occasional hole carved into the roof of the cavern. Travel and even an undisturbed view of their digivice screens were unexpected for the two men.  
  
"I guess we're almost at those blue stars," Buck stated, staring down at the map grid on his digivice. The two red dots that stood for the two men were on top of the blue stars.  
  
Parker shook his head and stopped walking. He looked down at the ground below his feet, then back at his digivice. "Buck, we're right on top of them," he breathed.  
  
"Where?" Buck ran to Parker's side and looked down. "I don't see anything except for our feet and some dirt."  
  
"You're the journalist," Parker scoffed. "You must have, what, a degree in observation?"  
  
"And what are you implying?" Buck sighed angrily and shot a glance towards the hole-ridden roof of the cave. In the corner of his eye he thought he saw two gold-colored objects floating above his head. Disillusioned, he rubbed his eyes and looked back up. Sure enough, there were two golden oblong-shaped objects, large enough to fit in each of the men's palms. The two items descended, one landing in Buck's free hand, the other in Parker's.  
  
Parker shoved his digivice into a pocket and stared at the strange object in his hands. It looked like a scarab beetle from an Egyptian temple, decorated with emeralds. A symbol resembling a simplified clock face was engraved upon it. "What is this?" he asked, turning to Buck.  
  
Buck could only look at a similar item cradled in his palms. His was like a golden flame held at bay by a cord of red tied with bells. Engraved on the flames was a symbol akin to a stylized question mark. "I don't know," he managed at last. "They're probably the Digimentals that Hooter was telling us about."  
  
"And you're absolutely right about that, Cam."  
  
Buck and Parker's eyes grew wide as they searched the cavern frantically. Who had spoken to them? Surely it wasn't Parker - he didn't have that tinny, almost robotic voice. But that voice sure sounded familiar....  
  
"I didn't say anything," Parker laughed. "Did you?"  
  
Buck shook his head. "Don't look at me."  
  
"Then who did?"  
  
Two shadowy figures jumped onto Buck and Parker's chests, sending them to the ground. The two men gasped, the air rushing from their lungs as the strange figures settled on their stomachs. Despite the generous lighting of the cave, they could only see the creatures' eyes.  
  
"Hey there, Frank! Remember us?"  
  
It was that tin-like voice again - and it was coming from the ... thing on Parker's chest! Parker managed to ease his head forward to take a closer look at the creature. It was insect-like, probably only two feet tall. Monstrous green eyes stared from a head in shades of gray, and sharp-looking claws were held before the insect's face, not in any position to frappe him. Shielding his transparent wings was an equally gray shell, scattered with black spikes. A small pair of 'hands' extended from ... springs ... and obviously this creature was sitting on Parker's chest on another pair of legs. Parker shuffled back through his jumbled memory, back to days before the Backstep program had changed his perception of time ... back to his childhood in a church-run orphanage ... just to find the strange creature's identity....  
  
"Tentomon?" he said at length.  
  
The insect nodded his head. "That's me!" He shoved his head towards Parker's, stopping only an inch before the man's nose. "You sure have grown a lot since I last saw you."  
  
"And when was that?" Parker groaned, sitting up. Tentomon flew off of Parker and settled himself on the dirt-covered floor of the cave. He now had a view of the creature on Buck's chest - a furry creature as long as Tentomon was tall, with blue stripes interrupting his red fur and nine feather-like tails in a fan formation on his rump. It looked like a rodent.  
  
"Oh, I'd say ... sixteen years ago - according to time in your world," Tentomon replied.  
  
"Sixteen years?" Parker mused, looking down at the Digimental in his hands. "But then ... I was, what, eleven years old?"  
  
Tentomon nodded again. "Well, I guess somewhere about there. Now, do you mind helping me get Cam up?"  
  
Parker took a step towards the reporter, but Buck had managed to stand up on his own. The strange rodent was by his side, balancing on its hind legs. "I'm Elecmon," the rodent said, waving a clawed forepaw. "I was Cam's partner."  
  
Buck looked down at Elecmon condescendingly, hands on his hips. "It's Buck, Elecmon," he hissed. "Cameron's just a formality."  
  
"Humph! That wasn't so sixteen years ago - Buck." Elecmon crossed his forepaws about his white belly, and his large ears fell.  
  
"Oh, really?" Buck turned to face Parker, his eyes angrily narrowed. "Frank, what exactly are these ... creatures? And how do we know each other?"  
  
Tentomon and Elecmon chimed a response before Parker could even muse upon an answer. "We're digimon - digital monsters!"  
  
"Digimon?" Buck scoffed. "Oh, so you're like that mummy guy that trashed my apartment a few days ago? Are you going to trash Parker's ... apartment ... now, too?"  
  
Elecmon always sounded as if he were in a sour mood, and now was no exception. "No, of course not. Now, pests like Mummymon - whom you so graciously described to us - he's the kind of guy that would trash your pad. And I frankly didn't expect that - not after we defeated him sixteen years ago."  
  
The digimon's response seemed only to make Buck angrier. "Oh, so we did some undead slaying when Parker and I were teenagers. Well, you can get this into your digimon head - Frank and I didn't know each other when we were kids! Sure, I may remember a little punk named Francis, but not Frank Parker here!" He turned away from his partner. "And you can also try to understand that I didn't fight any darn mummy sixteen years ago, either!"  
  
Elecmon sighed. "You were always like this, Buck - always skeptical."  
  
"Well, this is nothing compared to the air strike on Israel three years ago," Buck muttered. "I can believe hail falling from the sky and destroying three entire air forces, but not me fighting the undead and juggling schoolwork at the same time."  
  
"This doesn't sound good," Tentomon chimed.  
  
"And what do you mean by that?" Buck and Parker yelled furiously, temples throbbing.  
  
"You see," Tentomon explained, "the hailstorm you mentioned took place at the same time as one here. Now, three years ago a massive hailstorm crashed through the Digital World. It's what made this cave formation look like Swiss cheese. Now, throughout the Digital World, on these little television sets scattered about, there was an image of a strange digimon warding away darkness with a blade of light."  
  
"A lightsaber, like those on Star Wars?" Parker asked.  
  
Tentomon looked dumbstruck, but otherwise continued. "I don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, the beams from this digimon's blade sent the hail to this world. Days later, the storm stopped, and the images flashed off from the televisions."  
  
"So?" Buck asked. "What's that got to do with anything?"  
  
"Well, it means that something worse is going to happen," Tentomon said.  
  
"And does it concern this strange digimon that caused the hailstorm?" Parker asked.  
  
Tentomon nodded. "Yeah. The digimon is known as Holy Angemon, and legends say that he, along with another digimon, are the primary Guardians of the Center. Now, this hailstorm that Buck mentioned signals the impending end of one of the Guardians."  
  
"Do you know which one?"  
  
"No," Tentomon shrugged, "but we can help you find a way to the Center."  
  
Parker and Buck smiled. "Okay," Buck sighed. "How about this - we'll put our differences behind us, and you can take us to the Center. We'll tell Holy Angemon or this other Guardian that they're in danger, find a way to protect them, and then we'll talk about what supposedly happened sixteen years ago. Deal?"  
  
Elecmon and Tentomon reluctantly nodded. "Deal."  
  
"Now let's go out and get back to camp," Parker breathed. "Maybe you can tell us how these Digimentals work over some Vienna sausages."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Buck and Parker's camp  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
The Chosen Children and their digimon were seated around the portable stove, cans of Vienna sausages in hand, paw, claw, or wing. Delighted with the breakfast they had stumbled upon, they dug their hands into the cans of preserved sausages and took generous bites. Well, except for Daisuke - he was still shoving them down his throat.  
  
"How many more are left, Armadimon?" he asked, throwing another can behind him. "I'm still hungry."  
  
Armadimon stuffed his nose into a backpack, and then soon emerged all too quickly. "Sorry, Daisuke - no more."  
  
Daisuke stood up, his temples throbbing. "No more Vienna sausages!" he roared. "This is an outrage!"  
  
"Hey, the rest of us have to eat," Miyako said between bites.  
  
"But it's Vienna sausages! I love Vienna sausages!"  
  
Strange footsteps silenced Daisuke for a rare moment. The boy turned towards the cave - footfalls seemed to echo from within.  
  
"You hear that?" he asked.  
  
The children nodded. "Yeah," they whispered in unison.  
  
Presently two grown men exited from the cave, two digimon before them. The men were holding golden items, similar to Digimentals, in their hands. One of them, a young man with dark hair and dark clothing, pointed an angry finger at Daisuke. He said something, but it was in English.  
  
"Does anyone know what he's saying?" Daisuke asked when the man finished talking.  
  
The kids shook their heads. "None of us know English - except for hamburger and hot dog and 'how are you'," Ken sighed.  
  
"I thought you were the genius of the group!" Daisuke yelled. "Now, I don't know what these yahoos want - but I'll tell them to stay away from our hoard of Vienna sausage! V-mon - Digimental Up!"  
  
The screen of Daisuke's D3 lit up red as the Digimental of Courage was activated. V-mon, who was beside Daisuke, started to glow with a red light. "V-mon, armor evolve! Fladramon, burning courage!"  
  
A dragon dressed in armor covered in a flame motif appeared before Daisuke, poised in a battle ready. "Nobody goes after Daisuke's horde of Vienna sausage!" he growled.  
  
The man that had pointed at Daisuke took the Digimental in his hands. One of the digimon that had come out with him, a Tentomon, flew over to the man's side. The digimon seemed to whisper something in the man's ear, to which the man smiled gleefully.  
  
Soon the man held the Digimental away from his body. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Daisuke. The boy may not have known what the man had said to him before, but he seemed intent on gaining his hoard of Vienna sausage.  
  
(For our purposes I will tell you what Frank Parker told Daisuke in his most serious NSA-agent voice - not so that we are left in the dark any longer.)  
  
"I don't know who the heck you are, kid, but you've depleted my entire supply of Vienna sausage! You're going to have to pay, too! Tentomon - Digimental Up!"  
  
The man with the blond hair and unusually long bangs - Buck Williams - followed suit, extending his Digimental before him. "You stole our breakfast!" he growled behind clenched teeth. "Elecmon - Digimental Up!"  
  
Daisuke was threatened, yet he was stubborn enough to hold his ground. The Chosen Children behind him could only look dumbly at the strange American adults that had digimon partners in tow.  
  
"I can't believe Daisuke's dumb enough to claim someone else's Vienna sausage hoard as his own," Miyako grumbled.  
  
"I wonder how this turns out," Iori scoffed.  
  
to be continued  
  
"Itsudemo Aeru Kara", ending animation, and credits play....   



	6. Shades of Grayscale

[copy/paste disclaimer here. And ANGELIC LAYER is a copyright of CLAMP.]  
VERSION UP and starting animation plays....   
  
Backstep 05  
Shades of Grayscale  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Buck and Parker's camp in the Digital World  
Time - five days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck held their digimentals before their bodies, basking in the light that glinted off of them. Their digimon, in a battle-ready position at their feet, glanced a moment towards them. There was a questing look in their eyes, as if they were waiting for the humans to do something.  
  
Daisuke and Fladramon were standing opposite them with pride in their eyes, but the other Chosen Children behind him cowered nervously. Ken, Iori, and Miyako had nervous grins covering their faces, but their eyes showed all - Daisuke was acting stupid again.  
  
Parker nodded as if they had secretly agreed on something, then stared at the digimentals in their hands. In unison they yelled out the phrase that would activate the strange objects.  
  
"Digimental Up!"  
  
The digimentals vanished from the men's hands in a flash of golden light, and a similar aura formed around their digimon. Tentomon and Elecmon grew into golden silhouettes, the tallest being almost seven feet in height. In seconds the auras about the digimon faded, revealing the strange new forms that they had assumed. In almost the same voices they announced themselves.  
  
"Tentomon, armor evolve! Scarabmon, flying Time!"  
  
"Elecmon, armor evolve! Kyuubimon, mysterious Truth!"  
  
Before Parker was a strange hybrid between a human and a scarab beetle. It stood a little taller than Parker, with a pair of large, transparent wings shielded by a golden shell engraved with the same strange clock face as the digimental. His muscular arms and legs were also shielded with gold, and his feet and hands were gargantuan and sharp as blades. Two whip-like tentacles grew from his waist, one by each of his hands. The digimon turned his head to face Parker, his golden teardrop-shaped face dominated by his large green eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, it's just me," Scarabmon buzzed in his tinny voice.  
  
Parker could do nothing but just gasp in disbelief. "You're Tentomon?" he breathed, shocked.  
  
The insect shook his head. "No. I'm Scarabmon, the armored form of Tentomon with the Digimental of Time."  
  
"But you're still the same guy, right?"  
  
"Mentally, yes, but physically, no," Scarabmon stated.  
  
"Oh," Parker said blankly, averting his eyes from Scarabmon's frightening form to look at Buck. The reporter was standing behind a large golden fox-like creature with nine flowing tails and a red rope tied with bells around his neck. Buck petted the fox warily, and received a coo of acknowledgement.  
  
"So, you're ... Kyuubimon?" Buck asked.  
  
The fox nodded. "I am," it replied in a feminine voice.  
  
"And what is 'Kyuubimon' supposed to mean?" Buck asked skeptically.  
Kyuubimon sighed warily and looked up at Buck. "It's a slurring of the Japanese words for 'nine tails' and the English word 'monster'. Geez, you ask too many questions." He turned back to face Fladramon angrily.  
  
"You stole our breakfast!" Scarabmon buzzed angrily at Daisuke and Fladramon. He spread out his wings and jumped into the air. Parker looked upon him in amazement and muttered something to Buck.  
  
"I wonder how he could fly with all that gold," Parker whispered.  
  
"Don't ask me," Buck said, looking up at the sky.  
  
Fladramon jumped into the sky and attempted to kick Scarabmon in the abdomen, but Scarabmon dodged and struck him with both the whips at his sides. Fladramon crashed to the ground before Buck and Parker and jumped to his feet. Fireballs formed around his right fist, which he shot out with a swift sweep of his arm. "Knuckle Fire!" he yelled out in perfect English.  
  
Scarabmon swiped the fireballs away with his whips, sending them into the sky behind him. He arched about the sky over the Chosen Children and extended his whips rigidly towards Fladramon. The whips hardened into golden spears that fired from his sides in a burst of light.  
  
"Scarab Stinger!"  
  
Fladramon jumped away from the spears to Daisuke's side. The spears struck the ground before Parker's feet.  
  
"Coward!" Kyuubimon shouted as he sprang from Buck's side towards Fladramon. Nine balls of flame formed before each of his tails. "Demon Fireball!" The fireballs were released from his tails and flew towards Fladramon's chest.  
  
Fladramon dodged from the fireballs, but they tailed closely behind the dragon. He jumped into the air to strike Scarabmon with his pronged claws, yet the attempt was futile. The fireballs crashed into Fladramon's back, causing him to careen down to the campground below.  
  
Fladramon crashed on his back before Daisuke and moaned wearily. Daisuke was about to crawl to the fallen digimon's side when Kyuubimon leaped onto Fladramon's chest. The fox-like digimon brought his face close to Fladramon's and let cold saliva drool onto his body.  
  
"Now, Buck, Parker, Scarabmon and I don't mean any harm to you and your friends," Kyuubimon growled. "We just want an apology from all of you and reimbursement for all the food you ate." Fladramon trembled, but Kyuubimon only brought his face closer. "You understand?"  
  
Fladramon nodded his head and turned towards Daisuke. "Kyuubimon wants you and the others to apologize to the Americans and give them some sushi and instant ramen when we get back to Tokyo," he groaned in Japanese.  
  
Daisuke nodded reluctantly and told the other children the news. They soon bowed low and muttered a dull "Sorry" in their native language.  
  
Kyuubimon walked off of Fladramon's back and turned back to Buck and Parker. "They've apologized," he said.  
  
"Well, that's a relief," Buck sighed.  
  
"Are they going to pay us for damages?" Parker asked angrily.  
  
"Fladramon said that the kids would buy us some food when they get back to Tokyo," Kyuubimon stated. The digimon's body started to glow and shrink as he reverted back to Elecmon. The digimental armor was compressed into a beam of light that shot out towards Buck's digivice.  
  
Tentomon, who had already reverted from his armored form, flew down to Parker's side and settled himself on the man's shoulder. "Well, at least something good came out of this," he buzzed.  
  
Buck walked down to where he had set down his backpack and slung it over his shoulders. He called Parker over with a slight movement of his head. Parker made his way over to Buck and stowed away the portable oven.  
  
"Come on, Frank," Buck groaned. "We have to find a way out of this Digital World. We already know that the Digimentals won't get us anywhere."  
  
Parker nodded. "Right." He pulled his backpack over his shoulders and walked away from the campground, averting from the Chosen Children. Tentomon and Elecmon tagged behind them, weary from the battle.  
  
A voice in English behind the two men halted them. "Wait!"  
  
Parker and Buck took a glance back. Fladramon had reverted back to V-mon and was now in Daisuke's arms. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "We're on our way back to Tokyo! Wanna come?"  
  
Parker's eyes widened, but he pulled Buck beside him. "Should we go with them?" he asked warily.  
  
Buck nodded. "Sure. How else are they going to get us our food?"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - United States Embassy, Tokyo, Japan  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
It only took a flash of Parker's NSA badge to admit an instant-ramen laden Buck and Parker into a private suite at the United States Embassy in Tokyo. The two had left Elecmon and Tentomon outside so they could find their way to their suite without suspicion. According to Ken, leaving Wormmon to find his way home on his own was the only way he had escaped wary eyes from his parents.  
  
Surprisingly, Ken's advice had worked for Parker and Buck. When the two were secure in their second-story executive suite, Tentomon and Elecmon popped their heads from behind one of the elegantly covered beds.  
  
"What took you two so long?" Elecmon asked, jumping onto the top of the bed. For the first time the digimon sounded gleeful. "We've waited here forever."  
  
"Well, it takes time to go up an elevator with armed guards surrounding you that don't bother to help carry a month's supply of instant noodles and sushi," Buck groaned, dropping bags of instant ramen onto the bed.  
  
"We're going to have to thank Miyako for getting this food from her convenience store," Parker sighed, setting his bags of sushi onto an antique wooden table. "What was that store called again?"  
  
"I think it was 'iMart'."  
  
Parker scoffed and plopped himself onto the other bed. "Doesn't sound all that original. Like some kind of laptop computer."  
  
"Yeah." Buck walked off into an alcove, the clicking of a sliding door shutting following soon afterwards. "I'll be taking a shower," he called from behind the door.  
  
"All right," Parker replied. Running water hissed from behind the bed momentarily, followed by Buck humming "Outdoor Man" severely off key.  
  
"Great - I'm stuck with a tone-deaf Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist," Parker droned, reaching over to a phone placed on a nightstand. It was already six in the evening, making it three in the morning at NNL. Nevertheless, Parker took the phone off the hook and dialed the Conundrum number. Knowing Talmadge, he would probably still be awake, smoking a cigar and waiting for a call.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Talmadge, half asleep, was staring off at the television in a corner of his private office. Currently the television was tuned to CNN, with scenes of Nicolae Carpathia shaking UN delegates' hands and the usual caption beneath: "Nicolae Carpathia, the newly instated Secretary General of the United Nations, will have a conference with the ten highest United Nations delegates five days from now at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The meeting will be viewed only as a live webcast."  
  
"Great," Talmadge sighed, pulling a cigar from his wooden cigar box. He lit it and chewed upon it a while, never pulling his eyes away from the television. How could polite-looking Nicolae Carpathia be one of the masterminds behind Digital Conundrum, as Parker had said?  
  
The intercom on Talmadge's desk buzzed, causing the burly man to automatically pound the speaker button. "Talmadge here."  
  
"Sir, it's Conundrum," a female voice called from the other end.  
  
"Patch him in."  
  
Parker's dreary voice filled the stuffy room. "Hello Bradley."  
  
"Good evening, Frank. How is it going on your end?"  
  
"Well, Buck and I got ourselves out of the Digital World."  
  
"You did? How?"  
  
A scoff from Parker, then silence. "Well, a couple of Japanese kids ran into us. Luckily, we had some translators on hand, so we followed the kids to a television set. These televisions have the ability to have us communicate with people on Earth, and they can transport us back here with the help of the digivice."  
  
Talmadge nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Good job, Frank. So, where are you?"  
  
"That's a good question," Parker said, nervous. "Buck, our translators, and I are at the American Embassy in Tokyo."  
  
"What?" Talmadge, enraged, stood up from his chair and slammed his hands flat onto the desk. "How did you manage to get to Tokyo?"  
  
"Hey, I told you that the kids were Japanese," Parker laughed. "And they were the ones that sent us back to Earth. I think their digivices are set to return them to Japan."  
  
"Then that probably explains it." He paused a moment to chew on his cigar in thought. "Frank, do you think that you could find another way to the Digital World from where you are?"  
  
"I think so. The kids used a program called Digital Gateway to transport themselves to the Digital World via computer. There's a catch, though."  
  
"And what is it?"  
  
"You'll need a D3 version digivice to open a Digital Gateway on any computer."  
  
Talmadge sighed. "And you and Buck don't have one?"  
  
"Nope. But Buck and I are planning to run into the kids again tomorrow. So don't worry - Buck and I will be trying to find a way to save the world soon."  
  
"All right. I'll expect to hear from you again, Frank."  
  
"Right."  
  
Click.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Buck and Parker's suite in the United States Embassy, Tokyo, Japan  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker hung up the phone and gently laid his head back on a comforter-sheathed pillow. Tentomon hovered over and landed by Parker's side. The shell on his back clicked as the digimon folded in his wings.  
  
"You tired, Frank?" Tentomon asked.  
  
Parker nodded. "Yeah. Saving the world for who knows how many times I've done it takes it all out of me." He sighed and patted Tentomon's head. "Would you mind waking me in a few hours so I could make some noodles?"  
  
Tentomon shrugged. "Sure thing."  
  
"Good." And immediately Parker was snoring.  
  
--Water dripping from the sky.  
  
Rain.  
  
The rotting remains of a fishing village - not a New England one, no ... a traditional Japanese version. Two boats still tethered to a pole (a dock?) by an algae-crusted rope.  
  
An ocean in the shades of an ancient black-and-white printer. Waves crashing onto a grayscale beach ... once ... twice ... and yet again....  
  
A rocky bluff, the remains of a New England style lighthouse near the end, far on the horizon....  
  
Parker sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. He looked to his side, finding nothing there. Where was Tentomon?  
  
"Darn," Parker cursed, swinging his legs over the ledge of the bed. His feet splashed into water, splashing onto his clothes. Again he cursed, pulled himself onto the bed again, and chanced a look around. The bed he was on was settled on the sandy bottom of the ocean, the gray water sloshing about the bed skirt. There was nothing else to be found - just the ocean, the village on the horizon behind him, the lighthouse to the opposite direction, the perpetual rain....  
  
And everything was in a shade of grayscale.  
  
"What is this, a black-and-white movie?" Parker asked out loud. But nobody answered him. The village was deserted, the lighthouse abandoned, the ocean calm except for the falling rain.  
  
A light appeared on the horizon before Parker. Shades of strange creatures, even people, were starting to take shape. An angel with three pairs of wings was at the center of the light, and a Japanese boy with a white hat (or at least it looked so) seated upon the back of an ivory sphinx was some distance behind him. Hovering above the calm ocean was a pink light, a young girl its source. The children and the angel seemed familiar - where had Parker seen them before?  
  
The white light started to blot out the grayscale landscape, inching its way towards Parker. Parker did all he could to shield his eyes, but it was all in vain. Everything vanished, leaving only the sound of the rain and the whispered words in a voice Parker recalled from a previous timeline....  
  
"God's Typhoon."--  
  
The buzz of a microwave signal awoke Parker an hour later. Warily Parker rubbed his eyes, expecting to view the ominous grayscale ocean before him again. This time the television greeted him, and Tentomon at his feet, staring at the screen. An animated show was airing currently - "Angelic Layer," from what Parker could make of the English words on the title card.  
  
"Hey, Frank, I've set up some sushi and wasabi for you over here." It was Buck, seated cross-legged on the other bed, picking ramen noodles from a cup with chopsticks. Elecmon was beside him, watching the television and chewing on sushi. A plate with some rolls of sushi and a green paste were beside the digimon.  
  
"Thanks, Buck," Parker said, standing from the bed and taking the plate. He was relieved to find that the carpeted floor of the suite wasn't sopping with brine. Dropping a piece of sushi in his mouth, Parker asked, "So, Buck, what else have you been up to?"  
  
"Oh, nothing much," the journalist said, slurping ramen into his mouth. "Just took a shower, then got some food and turned on the TV. No shows in English though."  
  
"Not even CNN?"  
  
"Well, I did see part of their evening report." Buck dropped his chopsticks into his now-empty plastic ramen cup and threw it into a wastebasket. "Said something about our good friend Nicolae having a meeting with United Nations members sometime in the next couple of days. Did you know that he's now the Secretary General of the UN?"  
  
Parker almost choked on his sushi in shock. "Secretary General? You've got to be kidding me. I mean, a guy that trashed your apartment and is probably plotting to do away with us this very moment - I don't see him as head of any peace organization. And besides, he isn't even human!"  
  
"Well, the UN and the rest of the global political scene seem fooled now. I mean, look at all this talk he has of uniting the world equally in a Global Community." Buck said 'global community' as if it were capitalized.  
  
"Like that's ever going to happen," Parker scoffed.  
  
"But remember - we found out that the Digital Conundrum disk had plans for uniting, even conquering the world. And the codes mentioned that this was to be a demonic empire."  
  
"Well, at least half the world's population won't have to endure it."  
  
"But what if we prevent the disappearances, eh?"  
  
"Then the world wouldn't buy into this 'Global Community' business so easily," Parker said, mimicking Buck's pronunciation of 'global community'.  
  
"So yet another reason why we have to save the world."  
  
"Hey, who said anything about we?"  
  
"Well, you're stuck with me," Buck sighed. "And the digimon seem to be glued to us."  
  
Parker looked at Tentomon and Elecmon, who were still staring at the television. "They look glued to the screen to me."  
  
"You've got a point." Buck stretched himself out and lay on the bed. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get ourselves an early sleep." He closed his eyes and started to slow his breathing.  
  
"Okay. I won't bother you," Parker sighed, throwing the last of his sushi into his mouth. Lazily he walked over to the bathroom sink and placed the plate inside, not bothering to pour any water upon it. He then slowly walked into the main room, switched off the lights, and climbed upon his bed.  
  
"Hey, Tentomon," Parker groaned, "why don't you and Elecmon keep the volume down while we sleep, all right?"  
  
Tentomon kept his eyes on the television, but replied nevertheless. "All right, Frank."  
  
"Thanks." Parker rolled over on his side to take a glance at Buck. The reporter seemed to flicker with a static-like aura, much like the interference on a television. No, that couldn't be, Parker told himself. He closed his eyes, and the last thing he remembered seeing was Buck flashing with static and the room fading into gray.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - unknown  
Time - four days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker awoke the next morning, his eyes blurred with sleep. He drowsily attempted to sit up - it took more effort than he could recall. For some reason the mattress beneath him was giving way like sand. And through his short hair Parker could feel little granules of grit scattered through it.  
  
"Some executive suite," Parker moaned, finally rubbing his eyes. He looked down and saw Tentomon on his lap, a distressed look in his bulbous faceted green eyes.  
  
"Frank, do you know where we are?"  
  
Parker shrugged - what kind of question was the digimon asking? "We're at the American Embassy in Tokyo, in our suite. Why?"  
  
"I don't recall having an ocean view from our room. And the last time I saw you, you were in full color."  
  
Parker flashed a you've-got-to-be-kidding glare at Tentomon, but the digimon only raised a talon to point at something behind him. With a game smile upon his lips Parker turned back. The view made his jaw lower in shock.  
  
It was the grayscale ocean from his dream. The rotting Japanese fishing village was to the left, tatters of cloth signs hanging limply from poles. Far to the right was the rocky bluff, the ruins of the lighthouse dotting the horizon. Everything was a monotonous grayscale, colors muted by darkness.  
  
"You're right, Tentomon," Parker breathed at last. "We didn't have an ocean view. Now where are Buck and Elecmon?"  
  
"They're at the village," Tentomon buzzed. "The digivice picked up something strange there."  
  
Parker brought himself to a standing position and smiled. "Well, then. Let's go drop them a visit."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Center  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Minutes had passed since the mysterious new angel digimon had revealed himself to Takeru and Hikari. The Guardian - for lack of knowledge of his true name - stood at a limp military attention, basking in the light emitted from the Crest of Hope motif carved into the floor. The two Chosen Children leaned on a railing across from the digimon, exhausted.  
  
"I wonder what he's the Guardian of," Takeru asked to nobody in particular. "He sure doesn't look like Angemon."  
  
"And he doesn't look like Holy Angemon, either," Hikari sighed. "You think Koushirou or any of the others know?"  
  
"I doubt it." A sigh. "But at least we found him."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - abandoned fishing village, unknown region  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Tentomon found Buck seated atop Kyuubimon, the journalist's eyes staring down at the digivice in his hands. Buck's long bangs blew about his face in a nonexistent wind, and it was all he could do to not tuck them behind his ears. Upon hearing Parker and his digimon partner approach him, Buck raised his head away from the digivice screen.  
  
"Good morning, Frank," he sighed, at last pulling his bangs away from his face. "You know where the heck we are?"  
  
Parker shrugged. "Beats me. You think the digimon know?"  
  
Kyuubimon and Tentomon shook their heads. "We've never been here," Kyuubimon growled. "For all we know, we're in a black-and-white movie before a dark ocean."  
  
"Maybe that's what we should call this place - Dark Ocean," Parker scoffed.  
  
"Makes sense," Buck nodded. He looked back down at his digivice. "I've been getting a strange reading on this thing," he muttered to nobody in particular. "There are two blue stars in the direction of the building before us." He pointed to a ramshackle wooden structure that had a frayed bluish banner with Japanese characters written upon it in fading white dye.  
  
Parker looked in the direction of the building Buck pointed at. "It looks like one of those restaurants in rural Japan, like what Daisuke and his friends told us about yesterday when they got us our food," he mused. "Don't see any food, though."  
  
"I'd doubt it - the place looks like it's been abandoned for years," Buck stated. "But the readings say that these two things are in here." He chanced a look at Parker. "Should we go?"  
  
Parker nodded. "It doesn't hurt to." He took his digivice from his pants pocket and picked his way through rubble towards the rotting building. Tentomon flew shortly behind him, followed by Buck mounted on Kyuubimon.  
  
It took only a square kick into the moist wooden door for the group to enter the building. Immediately Buck jumped off of Kyuubimon and rushed to Parker's side, digivice in hand. There was nothing of true interest in the moldy, rotting shack - just a few low-set tables that had seen better days, floor cushions torn with stuffing poking out, plates and chopsticks with what looked like the remains of sushi decomposing as they waited for those that were eating them. Scuba air tanks were littered on the floor, pressure indicators showing that they were still full. A display case once filled with food was now home to collapsed iron racks, a few broken light bulbs, and a pie tin or two. Behind the display case was a doorway, concealed by the tatters of a cloth that was printed in Japanese style. Other than the two human men and their digimon partners, there was nothing else alive in that rotting shack.  
  
"Your data must be screwed up," Parker sighed. "There's nothing here - unless that digivice was detecting the air tanks."  
  
Buck looked down at his digivice again. "No, the air tanks aren't what I'm picking up. Whatever it is, it's behind the display case."  
  
Parker gazed in disgust at the partly concealed doorway. The heavy air of death was about the entire town - especially in the shack. Reaching inside his jacket, Parker drew out his gun - he forgot that he still had it since running into Carpathia - and inched his way towards the door. Slowly he drew back the tattered curtain and pointed the muzzle of the gun beyond it. There was no rustling of a creature running away in fright. Cautiously Parker swiveled inside the room. Nothing there - with the exception of a rusted gas stove, an oven, and scattered pots and pans. How could the digivice be picking anything of value in the mess?  
  
"Coast's clear," Parker called out, waving his free arm. Immediately Buck, Kyuubimon, and Tentomon picked their way to the door and stood behind him. They stuck their heads beyond the doorway for a better look.  
  
"It looks like a tornado blew its way through here," Buck gasped in disappointment. "I've seen cleaner kitchens than this."  
  
"Are you sure those objects are in here?" Kyuubimon asked, looking up at Buck wistfully.  
  
Buck glanced at his digivice again. "I'm darn sure. These two things are in this room, straight ahead." He pointed to a relatively clear spot in the room.  
  
"Well, then. Let's check it out," Parker said gamely. Gun still in hand, he made his way past rusted culinary equipment, the cacophony of iron scraping on wood bringing mixed expressions to Buck and the digimon. Tentomon flew immediately behind Parker, while Buck and Kyuubimon padded after him.  
  
Moments later Parker was standing in the clear area of the room. He searched above and below, but nothing of interest caught his eye. Even the rotting ceiling was tiring to gaze upon. "Nothing here," he said at last. "Must be a false reading." He pocketed his gun and sighed.  
  
Buck looked back down at his digivice. "But I was sure that there was something on here - the signal's still on the screen! Here, let me check it out." He shoved his way through pans to Parker's side, Kyuubimon behind him.  
  
"Sure," Parker scoffed. "Journalists are always the one with an eye for detail."  
  
Buck narrowed his eyes, but made no comment. He moved the digivice in a sweeping pattern, but soon shook his head to the side. "This is strange," he said at last. "The digivice says that there's two objects right beneath us. But I don't see anything."  
  
"Nothing above, either," Parker sighed. "I still think it's a dud. Come on - let's go." He turned around to leave the way he came, but something made him halt. It sure wasn't a pan in the way of his feet. Invisible wall was instantly crossed out - he was even with Kyuubimon's hind feet. No - what had stopped Parker was something in his heart, something that had been hidden for sixteen years....  
  
"Frank, turn around." It was Buck, whispering. Warily Parker obeyed, and saw why his journalist partner was in awe.  
  
Two beams of blue light had emerged from the ground before them. Dog tags, United States Military issue, were suspended in each of the beams, each on a long chain. They were unmarked, except with different names on each of them. The one before Parker bore the name FRANCIS PARKER; CAMERON WILLIAMS decorated the tag in front of Buck.  
  
"Well, how about that?" Parker gasped. "Custom-made dog tags." He grabbed the dog tag before him and slipped it over his head. The cold metal had a strange warmness to it.  
  
"Frank, are you sure you want to take that?" Buck asked. He reached his hand inside the beam of light before him, but refused to take hold of the dog tag.  
  
"Hey, if our Digimentals were marked by a blue light, and if these are, too, then I guess it's okay to take them."  
  
"All right." Reluctantly Buck took the dog tag and placed it over his head. The light before Parker and Buck, though, still remained. An image was forming inside both of the beams, an image familiar, yet faded from memory. Within moments colored static interference invaded the light, taking the form of a hooded figure - strangely in full color.  
  
"Who's this wacko?" Parker laughed mockingly.  
  
The hooded figure started to speak. "I am Gennai, messenger of the force of Light."  
  
"Sounds like a Star Wars reject," Buck muttered.  
  
Gennai continued to speak, as if the message were prerecorded. "The two items that you have retrieved are Tags. These Tags, when combined with your Crests, will allow your digimon to become stronger and evolve to higher levels." The image in one of the beams of light changed into that of one of the dog tags and a symbol resembling a clock face. "The Crests are scattered about the Digital World, Earth, and the World of Darkness. You must find them so you can defeat the blasphemous beast known as-"  
  
And then the light turned dim, and the images vanished.  
  
"What was that all about?" Buck asked, turning to Parker.  
  
"I don't know," Parker shrugged indifferently. "Let's get out of here."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Center  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Only God knows how many minutes Takeru and Hikari stared at the mysterious Guardian. Eventually, though, Takeru walked away from the railing he was leaning upon and made his way to the gate that would lead back to the Dark Ocean. Tentatively he picked up one of the air tanks and sighed. No matter how long he could hold his breath, there was no way that even both of the tanks could sustain a person for long.  
  
Hikari silently crept up behind Takeru with a sheepish smile playing on her lips. "Come on, Takeru," she whispered resignedly. "Let's get back. The Guardian will certainly follow us."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Takeru sighed halfheartedly. "But there's not enough air for even the both of us to return to the Dark Ocean."  
  
"Then we could go to the Digital World, or even Tokyo." Sparkles returned to Hikari's eyes. "You know, I haven't had decent ramen in months."  
  
A rumble shook the entire Center, knocking the two children off their feet. Two beams of light - one silver, the other gray-blue - shot out of two areas on the edge of the great bier in the center of the room, just near the dauntless Guardian. The strange angel digimon, aware of the disturbance, purposefully - yet haltingly - walked out of the light he was encaged in. He turned to face the Chosen Children, his hidden eyes boring into their souls.  
  
"Time and Truth have been awakened," he whispered, the sound echoing through the Center. "The second Guardian harkens."  
  
"Gee, I just thought he knew you wanted some ramen," Takeru said blankly.  
  
"It is time to seek the second Guardian," the angelic Guardian continued, making his way towards the children. His wings were spread wide, prepared for flight. The flat, listless expression upon his half-hidden face started to turn square, serious.  
  
Hikari trembled and pulled herself towards Takeru. "I don't like that look," she whispered.  
  
"I don't either," Takeru shuddered.  
  
Unexpectedly the Guardian glided at blinding speed towards the children, gathering them in his arms. Takeru and Hikari hardly had a chance to scream as the Guardian rammed into the portal that led to the Dark Ocean. The shattering of glass was the last sound that filled the children's ears before all turned dark.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - abandoned fishing village, Dark Ocean  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker, Buck, and their digimon had exited the rotting restaurant, their Tags mysteriously shining with a silver glint in the darkness-suppressed world. Warily Parker brought out his gun and kept it in his hands. He walked further into the town in the general direction of the ocean.  
  
"I don't like this place," Parker grumbled as he walked off. Reluctantly Buck and the digimon followed him - there was no reason to split up.  
  
The entire fishing village followed the same suit as the shack Parker and Buck had explored. Every building was rotting into the ground, the smell of brine and the air of recent death all around. Even the old dock at the very outskirts of the town was falling to the same fate. Parker only took a small step onto the wharf to test the stability, and the wood fell beneath in soggy flakes.  
  
"We can't even get out on the dock," Parker sighed. "Just our luck."  
  
"What, you think there's boats down there?" Buck asked sarcastically. "Look, as far as we know, we don't even know how to get back home from this Dark Ocean place. We're stuck. There's no way we're gonna save the world here."  
  
"Yeah, you're right." Parker sighed again. He stared off at the horizon, towards the ruined lighthouse upon the bluff. A white flash of light emerged from beneath the bluff, shooting into the sky. "Maybe we should check out that lighthouse before it gets too late."  
  
"It's probably just as moldy as this place," Buck scoffed.  
  
"Who knows? It might have a way for us -"  
  
A deep rumble shook the ground beneath the men and their digimon. Water sloshed up onto the high wharf, splashing onto Buck and Parker. Parker lost his train of thought as he stared off at the horizon. Something was rising from the water, something dark - darker than the depressing grayscale.  
  
A form could soon be seen upon the far-off sky. It was macabre, almost like a sinister cross between a man and a squid. Horns grew from the creature's head, and its red eyes glared straight through the men.  
  
"You know what that is?" Buck breathed, backing into Kyuubimon.  
  
Parker shook his head. "I have no idea."  
  
to be continued....   
Itsudemo Aeru Kara, ending animation, and credits play....   
  
{author's notice}  
HEY! Due to popular request, Parker and Buck will offer a FAQ session after part 06 of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM! They will welcome your questions not only of the DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02, SEVEN DAYS, and LEFT BEHIND references in this fic, but of whatever will come in later parts! And - of course - a preview of when all the mayhem will start again: BACKSTEP 09 - ANGEL'S TRUMP SOUNDING!  



	7. Journey to the Center of the (Digital) E...

[copy/paste disclaimer here. Power Rangers is a trademark of Toei, Saban, and Bandai, and Spiderman is a trademark of Marvel Comics.]  
  
VERSION UP and starting animation plays....   
  
Backstep 06  
Journey to the Center of the (Digital) Earth  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
Time - four days before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Owsley returned to his quarters with a can of root beer in his hands after a short briefing with Talmadge. The meeting wasn't as urgent as most of the others - just a little fill-in on goings between Buck and Parker (who were for some reason in Tokyo) and Nicolae Carpathia (AKA the crazed mummy-monster who had trashed Buck's apartment). So far none of the news was good - but then, neither was it bad.  
"So Buck and Parker have made it out of the Digital World, but Nicolae's the Secretary General of the United Nations," Owsley droned, setting his root beer by his extensive computer console. He took out a bag of popcorn from a drawer and placed it in a nearby microwave. After pressing a button, Owsley settled himself in his fluffy swivel chair and moved his mouse about, ridding his screen saver. His online mailbox filled the monitor now - no new messages, not even from Buck or Parker.  
"Great," he said in defeat. "Not a single e-mail from Frank or Buck." In disgust Owsley closed his online mailbox and found his way to the Digivice Prime/D3 program. Almost immediately he hacked into Parker's digivice. Nothing much could be seen in the small two-way visual/audio communications window - just what looked like a seascape in black-and-white. A strange squid-like creature was rising from the ocean like a reject from an old Godzilla movie.  
"Where the heck is Frank - a black-and-white movie?" Owsley asked himself as he looked down at the small user location map in the monitor's lower right-hand corner. Sure enough, there were Parker and Buck's names, along with two strange names, one by each of the men's. Tentomon and Elecmon - those were probably the two translators Talmadge was talking about in the briefing. Immediately below Parker and Buck's names, though, was their location. It wasn't Tokyo, that was for sure.  
The screen displayed: FRANCIS PARKER + TENTOMON; CAMERON WILLIAMS + ELECMON - LOCATION = DARK OCEAN, WORLD OF DARKNESS.  
"World of Darkness?" Owsley gasped, though his voice was still in monotone. "Where the heck is that? I've got to tell Talmadge."  
His popcorn forgotten, Owsley bolted out of his chair and burst out of his quarters, running hurriedly to Talmadge's private office.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - abandoned fishing village, Dark Ocean  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker, Buck, Tentomon and Kyuubimon stood by the rotting wharf, staring off at the grayscale ocean before them. The strange squid-like man was rising out of the sea, his head engulfing the horizon. Soon his body ascended from the water, and his arms came above his monstrous head. Though the monster was seemingly many miles away, Parker and Buck could tell that the beast's body was just a bundle of tentacles banded together by leather belts.  
Strangely, though, the creature was not headed for the village.  
"Where do you think it's going?" Buck asked, keeping his voice low.  
"I think it's headed for the lighthouse," Parker whispered in response. "So I guess we're safe."  
"That's good," Buck sighed. "I guess there's nothing for us to worry about."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - someplace near the lighthouse, Dark Ocean  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Takeru, Hikari, and the mysterious Guardian landed by the ruins of the lighthouse nearly moments after shattering through the Dark Ocean gate in the Center. The landscape, though still in shades of muted gray, seemed a little ... different. Hangyomon had said that time had no meaning in the Center - so how long had they been gone from the Dark Ocean?  
Tailmon was standing on top of a heap of bricks near where the Chosen Children and the Guardian had landed. Excitedly she ran towards Hikari and jumped into the girl's arms.  
"Where have you been?" Tailmon cried gleefully, pressing herself into Hikari's chest. "You've been gone for over two days!"  
"Two days?" Hikari gasped.  
"Sure didn't seem like that long," Takeru remarked. "Hey, have you seen my hat?"  
"It's over there by the rubble," Tailmon purred.  
"Thanks." Slowly Takeru started for the remains of the lighthouse, but a flash of white light past by him, stopping the boy in his tracks. After recovering from the shock, Takeru looked ahead - the Guardian had already made it to the mounds of toppled brick, the boy's hat in his hands. Shocked, yet somewhat disappointed, Takeru picked his way to the Guardian and reluctantly took the hat from his hands.  
"Well, thanks for getting it," Takeru stammered, shoving the hat on his head. The Guardian, though, gave no sign of acknowledgement. Instead he stared out at the ocean, his robes and lengthy hair blowing about his face in a nonexistent wind.  
"The Dark Master of the Ocean is near," the Guardian lowed. "And so is the second Guardian."  
"The Dark Master of the Ocean?" Takeru mused, cradling his head in a hand. "I hope you don't mean Dagomon. Didn't you - I mean, Angemon - defeat him earlier?"  
The Guardian shook his head slightly. "Angemon only held him at bay."  
"Great - he talks about himself in the third person," Takeru said blankly.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - abandoned fishing village, Dark Ocean  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck continued to stare out at the ocean, watching the progress of the squid-like monster warily. Slowly the creature was trudging his way to the bluff, edging closer to the lighthouse. The monster was coming at the bluff from the far side, his dark body a backdrop to three persons in grayscale and another character entombed in an ivory aura.  
"Hey, who are those people?" Buck asked, pointing at the figures.  
"Beats me," Parker shrugged. "They're too far away to tell."  
"Let's check the digivice." Buck took the digivice clipped to his pants pocket and pressed a button. Three red dots were positioned in a high corner on the screen, exactly opposite from the four red dots that marked where he, Parker, and the digimon were. Next to the three red dots, though, was a green light tinged with white and a gray diamond.  
"Never seen those symbols before," Buck mused. "The digivice says that there's three people on the bluff, along with some green thing and a ... bogey."  
"I think I know what our bogey is," Parker said. "It must be that dark shape coming up behind the bluff. And the green thing might be whoever's in that aura."  
Buck clipped his digivice to his pants pocket and looked back at Parker. "Good reasoning. Should we warn those people?"  
"I guess." Parker looked up at Tentomon and took out his digivice. "Tentomon, you're going to have to Digimental Up so we could fly to the bluff."  
Tentomon's eyes seemed to droop. "Why can't you just ride on Kyuubimon?"  
"Because I don't think Kyuubimon can handle my weight and Buck's." Parker brought his digivice before his body, nearly shoving it in Tentomon's face. "Tentomon - Digimental Up!"  
Tentomon's body started to shine with a dull golden glow. "Tentomon, armor evolve! Scarabmon, flying Time!"  
Scarabmon settled himself low to the ground, allowing Parker to climb onto his back. "Let's go tell those people that they're going to get ambushed," Parker grunted. "Come on, Buck!"  
Buck climbed onto Kyuubimon's back and nodded. "All right!"  
In mere moments Scarabmon rose to the sky and sped off to the rocky bluff, Parker hanging to his back. Kyuubimon jumped from the wharf to the beach a few yards away and ran at breakneck speed towards the same location.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Owsley burst into Talmadge's office, and too late he realized that he had come at the wrong time. Nathan Ramsey was having a heated conversation with Talmadge, supposedly about Parker and Buck's condition. On occasion the chrononaut and journalist's names were spoken, and not with the kindest infliction.  
"That damn Parker better not have gone AWOL on us again!" Ramsey roared, slamming his fists into Talmadge's desk. "I could see him right now, buying diamond-studded cuff links with my credit card! That -"  
Talmadge raised a hand for silence. "Calm down, Nate. Now, I'll just call the American Embassy at Tokyo and ask if Buck or Frank have left recently. They might still be adjusting to time over there."  
"No need to," Owsley piped. "I know where they are."  
Ramsey, annoyed, turned to face the glass doors to the office. It wasn't a surprise for the stubborn head of security - the nerd in casual dress always had something smart to say. Not necessarily good, but always something smart.  
"Oh, and who decided to invite you here?" Ramsey growled.  
"Hey, Nate, settle down," Owsley cooed. "Look, Talmadge, I found out from the Digivice Prime that both Buck, Frank, and their translators are some new dimension called the World of Darkness. From what I could tell, there's no other way for them to communicate with us other than with those digivices."  
Talmadge thoughtfully grabbed a cigar from a box and lighted it. "Thank you, Andrew. See Nate? They're not spending money with your credit card."  
"That's good," Ramsey sighed reluctantly. "But what about that call you got early this morning from Tokyo?"  
"The communications center traced it to the American Embassy in Tokyo," Talmadge replied, chewing on his cigar. "And it came from the room that Frank and Buck were in."  
"Well, then, how could the two have gotten themselves into this ... World of Darkness?" A twisted look was upon the security chief's face.  
"Now that ... I don't know. Andrew, try to get surveillance tapes from the Embassy from yesterday. We have to find out what happened to Frank and Buck - or else we'll never be able to stop this Conundrum!"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - someplace near the lighthouse, Dark Ocean  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Scarabmon and Kyuubimon caught up with each other on the other side of the lighthouse, away from the people the digivice had detected. Parker and Buck jumped off their partners' backs and dusted themselves off.  
"That was some ride," Parker gasped in excitement. "Better than riding that Sphere."  
Scarabmon, Kyuubimon, and Buck stared at Parker with rather blank expressions. Parker almost expected that - the Sphere was a top-secret time machine. But it was true: hanging onto Scarabmon's back as the digimon buzzed across the sky was not as uncomfortable as banging along in the Sphere, hoping against everything - even God - that the Sphere would not land anywhere far away from a telephone. Or if it came to worse, a residential area. That would get Ramsey and the Panel in a fit.  
Then it hit Parker for maybe the thousandth time - the Sphere did land in a residential area on the last backstep. And Ramsey did get in a fit - and perhaps the Panel did, too. The Backstep Panel was always so secretive.  
"You know, Frank," Buck started, "maybe we should go check out who those guys on the other side of this lighthouse are. That is why we're here ... right?"  
Parker nodded. "Yeah. Come on - I'll cover you, and the digimon can come in behind us." He took out his gun and silently crept up towards the mounds of whitish bricks, hiding behind a pile. Sensing that the coast was clear, Parker waved his hand for Buck to come.  
Buck crunched his way to Parker's side and looked over the mound. There were two children just yards away from them. One was a girl with dark hair wearing long gloves, a tank top, shorts, and boots. A camera was about her neck, and a cat-like creature was in her arms. Closer to the men was a boy with a fisherman's hat, wearing a striped tee shirt, boots, and shorts. Beside him, partly blocked by more mounds of bricks, was an angelic being with robes of white, a miter-like helmet, golden hair, and a large pair of wings that were spread wide....  
Buck gasped, shocked. "I don't believe it. It's the angel from the Digital Conundrum disk!"  
"Let me see," Parker said skeptically, poking his head over the mound. Buck was right - the angel was the same one from the Digital Conundrum disk, minus the hunting horn in his hands. What was his name again? It had escaped Parker at the moment. Warily he looked at the two children nearby. They were both Japanese, like Daisuke and his ragtag group of kids. Strangely enough, they were familiar to Parker, too. He had seen them in the previous timeline, in the strange online movie. The girl's name was Hikari, the boy was Takeru, and that cat-like stuffed animal was Tailmon - well, as far as he remembered. Yet why did the angel's name escape him again?  
"You've got that right," Parker sighed, ducking back behind the mound of bricks. "Now how are we supposed to tell them that some big slimy squid is about to ambush them? They're Japanese!"  
"Not this problem again," Buck moaned, slamming his fist upon his forehead. "Why does every group of digivice-wielding kids have to come from Japan?"  
"Beats me. Wait!" Parker turned back and saw Scarabmon and Kyuubimon hiding behind whatever was still standing of the original lighthouse. With a movement of a finger Parker called the digimon to him. It was a challenge to hide them all behind one brick mound, so they moved behind another nearby.  
"What do you want us here for?" Kyuubimon whispered.  
"I want you to tell those kids that that big squid-monster is about to attack them!" Parker exclaimed. "You managed to get it across to Daisuke and his friends - why not these kids?"  
Kyuubimon shrugged, the bells on his ribbon jingling slightly. "Why not?" After chancing a look at the kids, hoping that they weren't looking, Kyuubimon started to pad out from his hiding place. The crunch of rocks beneath a heavy foot, though, caused the digimon to back away behind the bricks.  
"What was it?" Buck asked.  
"Someone's coming this way," Kyuubimon replied urgently. "Scarabmon, check it out."  
Scarabmon poked his head over the bricks and immediately hid again. He turned to face the men. "The angel is coming your way. And from the looks of it, I think he knows that you're there."  
"This is just great," Parker groaned. He pocketed his gun and emerged from the pile of bricks, hands over his head. Just as Scarabmon had said, the angel was coming towards Parker's hiding place. The two Japanese children stared blankly at him, but the angel purposefully continued to make his way to the mound. In moments the angel stood before Parker, but instead of the stern look Parker had expected, there was an expression of remembrance upon his lips.  
"Frank?" the angel asked at last, eyeing Parker strangely.  
"Uh, yeah," Parker replied, finding it difficult to look upon a creature that kept his eyes hidden. "I'm Frank Parker. And you're...."  
"The Guardian," the strange angel lowed in English. He looked away from Parker momentarily, seeming to scan the ruins of the lighthouse. "Frank, tell Cam and your digimon that it's safe for them to come out. And put your hands down."  
Slowly Parker lowered his arms, wondering: Didn't that angel have a name other than the Guardian? He looked down at Buck - who looked quite cross - and then shot a glance at the two digimon behind the other mound. Eventually Buck rose from behind the mound, and Kyuubimon and Scarabmon walked out from their hiding place.  
"The name's 'Buck' now," Buck said sternly, trying without success to look upon the Guardian comfortably.  
"Buck," the Guardian said, seemingly trying to say the journalist's press nickname with the correct infliction. He then looked towards Kyuubimon and Scarabmon, who were starting to head back to their partners. "You two look different," he said at last. "Did you armor-evolve?"  
The two digimon nodded their heads. "We did," Scarabmon replied. "Kyuubimon and I are the armored evolved forms of Elecmon and Tentomon." A pause. "It's been a while since we've seen you, Holy Angemon."  
So that's what his name was! Parker thought, reminding himself to remember the name. It wasn't like him to forget.  
The two children behind the Guardian gasped, their eyes small dots on their faces. "Holy Angemon?" the boy breathed. "He sure doesn't look like him." His words, though spoken in English, matched the movements of his mouth like an old dubbed Godzilla movie.  
"Well, he did evolve from Angemon, Takeru," the girl answered, also in English.  
"Did he really, Hikari?" Takeru asked skeptically. He sighed. "He still doesn't look all that much like him."  
Buck looked at Hikari and Takeru with wide eyes. "Frank," he stammered, "the kids ... they're speaking in English!"  
"English?" Takeru asked blankly. "I hear you guys in Japanese."  
Parker stared at the Japanese kids, then at the strange Guardian. "It must be that gift of tongues," he sighed at last. "You know, some weirdo phenomenon where people can speak in one language, but their message is heard in the native tongue of those who listen."  
"That may be," Buck gasped. He had that strange look to his eyes, the look of one searching his mind for a lost memory. "But that gives me an idea. Hey, uh, Holy Angemon," he started, turning towards the Guardian, "Frank and I came to tell you something."  
The Guardian turned to face Buck, his square face for the first time showing a trace of compassion. "What is it, Buck?"  
"Well, uh ... you're in big danger. Something called a Digital Conundrum is going to occur, which will result in you blowing a horn. But that's not the real big danger - after you blow the horn many people on Earth will turn up missing, and many accidents will be caused due to that. Now, Frank and I can't let that happen because-"  
"I know that Frank traveled back in time to undo the event," the Guardian stated calmly. Parker sweatdropped - apparently the Guardian was omniscient. "But you must know that there is no way to undo a Digital Conundrum."  
"So, what, I backstepped for nothing?" Parker scoffed in disbelief.  
"No, Frank, you did not. You and ... Buck ... were supposed to return to delay it - just as the two of you did sixteen years ago ... and you, Frank, did so alone just a year back."  
"Oh," Buck and Parker sighed blankly, exchanging a quick glance. Their puzzled eyes said it all: What exactly did happen sixteen years ago? And Parker asked himself, what did I do last year to delay this?  
"You know, Guardian," Buck eventually said, "Frank and I have been wondering ... what did we do sixteen years ago? I don't recall being in some Digital-"  
A large, gray tentacle slapped onto the rocks of the bluff, creating a slimy wall between the younger Chosen Children and Buck and Frank. The Guardian had leaped into the air in the confusion; Frank looked up to see the robed angel floating before the bloated face of the squid-human hybrid that they had seen from a distance almost thirty minutes past.  
Takeru and Hikari had also turned to face the gigantic monster that had attacked them. Their eyes started to tremble, and their mouths gaped open in shock.  
Buck eventually turned and stared at the great beast in his maw-like eyes. Without daring to even look at Parker, he hissed, "Who the hell is that?"  
"I have no freaking idea, and I don't think I want to know," Parker breathed.  
"It's Dagomon," Takeru and Hikari gasped.  
Parker cleared his throat rather annoyingly. "I said I didn't want to know."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Owsley returned to his quarters and spent the next half hour searching for surveillance tapes from the American Embassy in Tokyo. It wasn't all that hard to find - just a little hacking into national databases got him in. Moments later a strange scene in night-vision green played out on the computer monitor.  
Frank Parker and Buck Williams were in the room, all right, each of them sleeping on their own beds. A stuffed animal-like creature was at the foot of each of their beds, seemingly staring at the television before Frank. The camera angle gave a slight view of the television - it looked like some show called "Angelic Layer" was ending.  
Something strange started to flash across the screen. Static interference was overtaking Buck and the stuffed animal by his feet. Seconds later Parker and his stuffed animal were engulfed by static.  
And within the space of a minute, Parker, Buck, and their stuffed animals had been ... erased.  
Puzzling thoughts were running through Owsley's head, but only one thing bugged him the most. Why were two grown men sleeping with children's toys?  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Dark Ocean  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"I see that you have returned, Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope," Dagomon lowed, raising his tentacle from the rocky bluff. "You've changed, too." A sinister laugh echoed across the ocean. "You want to challenge me again?"  
Scarabmon and Kyuubimon ran back to their partners' side. "Weren't we supposed to warn the Guardian that this was coming?" Scarabmon buzzed.  
"Well, we were getting to that!" Buck and Parker hissed in unison. "Now you two get prepared to help him," Parker added harshly.  
"Frank, this Guardian guy is probably invincible," Buck sighed. "Look at him!"  
"Nobody's invincible, Buck," Parker grunted.  
The Guardian now had a sword in his hands; where it came from was unclear. Seemingly noticing that the angel now had a weapon, Dagomon lashed out his tentacles at him. With a flash of blinding light the Guardian sliced through one of them with his shining blade. The severed appendage burst apart with a splintering sound before even reaching the rocks.  
Another sound shook the air - Dagomon's other tentacle slammed into the Guardian's chest, sending him backwards into the ruins of the lighthouse. A heavy crack followed afterwards as the angel's body made impact with the ancient brick. The crumbling material crashed to the rocks as the Guardian plummeted to the ground.  
"Scarabmon, catch the Guardian before he hurts himself!" Parker yelled in distress over the din.  
"Right!" In a flash of grayscale-dulled golden light Scarabmon flew to the base of the lighthouse. The Guardian dropped into Scarabmon's arms, followed by more of the crumbling bricks.  
"Thanks," the Guardian gasped weakly, looking up into Scarabmon's frightening face.  
"Hey, Frank was the one who told me to-" Scarabmon started, yet he was unable to finish. Dagomon had whipped his remaining tentacle into Scarabmon's side, wheeling him into the lighthouse. The Guardian, unconscious, slumped over Scarabmon's body. A moan escaped from Scarabmon's mouth as he shone with a golden light and reverted to Tentomon.  
"This isn't good," Buck whispered dolefully. "Scratch two digimon."  
"It's not over yet," Parker snickered gamely. "I'm going to get the Guardian and Tentomon out of there." He took out his gun and ran towards the fallen digimon.  
"Well, can't blame him," Buck sighed. "He is a government agent, after all." He looked down at Kyuubimon. "You go cover Frank while I help him get the Guardian and Tentomon to safety."  
Kyuubimon nodded his head. "Okay." Swiftly the fox ran out towards Dagomon, even breezing by Parker on his pursuit.  
"Hey! What are you doing?" Parker yelled at Kyuubimon as he ran past.  
"Buck told me to cover you!" the fox yelled. "Now go! Get the Guardian!"  
Parker nodded - besides, he was already at the Guardian's feet. Warily he tried to lift up one of the strange digimon's arms, finding that it took more effort than expected to even raise it over his own shoulders. Yet even with the angel being supported on Parker's shoulders, there was no way that he could pick him up.  
"Hurry it up here, Frank," Tentomon groaned. "I don't see how a guy as heavy as he could fly."  
Parker nodded. "I'm trying here, Tentomon. Hey, Buck!" he called, turning to find the reporter on the other side of the Guardian. "Help me out here, will you?"  
"Sure thing," Buck sighed. He pulled the digimon's other arm about his shoulders. "You ready to pick him up, Frank?"  
"Yeah. On count of three?"  
"Okay. One...."  
"Two ... three!" Simultaneously the two men lifted to their feet, the immense Guardian resting on their shoulders. Tentomon wearily flew to Parker's side, a sound similar to a sigh escaping from his closed mouth.  
"Thanks, you two," he buzzed. "Any moment later and I think my shell would've broke."  
"Much obliged," Parker grunted. "Now come on - we're dragging him over to the kids there. That Dagomon creep doesn't seem to be attacking them."  
Buck silently nodded and haltingly turned in Hikari and Takeru's direction. The two Japanese kids were frozen in shock - now that the men noticed it, Hikari was holding the cat-like Tailmon closer to her body. Yet the children looked too mortified to even help Buck and Parker as they carried - or more accurately, dragged - the Guardian towards them.  
"It looks like Kyuubimon is holding off Dagomon quite well," Buck sighed after a few rather silent minutes. In the background the sounds of the fox-like digimon firing his Demon Fireballs could barely be heard over the violent crashing of the waves.  
"Well, don't be too sure," Parker groaned.  
Almost on cue, a deafening slap was heard. Without warning Kyuubimon crashed into Buck's back. Buck fell face-first into the rocks, his hold on the Guardian lost. Kyuubimon, exhausted, reverted to Elecmon and crawled over to Buck's side.  
"Hey, sorry about that," Elecmon said in his hoarse voice. "You all right?"  
Buck gradually stood up looked down at Elecmon. A gash had opened on his forehead now, blood dripping down from it. It looked minor, yet Buck was wincing from the pain. "I'm okay," he forced in a single labored breath.  
"That's good," Parker said. "We just have a few more feet to go, and then we'll be safe. I can't carry this guy by myself, you know."  
"I'll help you."  
Parker looked up from Buck - the Japanese boy Takeru was standing before him. His hat was tilted at a strange angle, and a sleeve of his shirt seemed to be singed, but the oddities didn't concern Parker. "Okay - come on, take his other arm. Buck -" he turned towards the reporter " - run ahead with Tentomon and Elecmon."  
"Got it!" Buck slowly jogged towards Hikari, the two digimon at his heels. Takeru, in the meanwhile, slung the Guardian's free arm over his shoulders.  
"You think you're ready to follow?" Parker asked momentarily.  
Takeru only nodded his head.  
He's a strange boy, Parker thought as the two made their way to where Buck was headed. Parker could remember Takeru's final moments in the past timeline, seeing him cry over the body of the Guardian before the Trumpet was blown. The words echoed through his head: "You don't know how you wounded me when you used all your power to defeat Devimon (whoever that is, Parker added). Don't tell me you used all your power to defeat Black War Greymon (don't know who the heck he is, either, Parker told himself), too!" Supposedly the Guardian had given his life once, Parker sighed mentally - and now Takeru is worried that it's going to happen again. He looked back at Takeru now - there was a crestfallen air about him.  
"Anything wrong, Takeru?" Parker ventured.  
"No, nothing wrong, Frank," Takeru muttered, not looking up at the older man.  
"Okay." A pause. "How exactly are you connected to the Guardian?"  
It was a long while before Takeru answered. "Well, Frank, Holy A- I mean, the Guardian - he's ... my partner." He looked ahead at Buck, Tentomon, and Elecmon - the three were already at Hikari's side. "Like Elecmon's yours. He is your partner, right?"  
Parker shook his head. "No - Tentomon's my partner." I think, he added mentally. "Elecmon is Buck's."  
"Oh. Hey, Frank - your friend Buck doesn't happen to be the reporter Buck Williams?"  
How'd he guess? Parker asked himself. "Uh, yeah. Why?"  
"My mother's a journalist, and she's always wanted to meet him. Could you have him sign something?"  
Parker's face drew a blank. "You'd have to ask him."  
The three had already reached Buck and the others. Laboriously Parker and Takeru laid the Guardian on the rocks, his helm-covered face staring at the cloud-darkened sky. Dagomon had seemed to ignore the group for the past few minutes, but now he was staring down at the Guardian.  
"You're weaker than I thought," Dagomon crooned, raising his good tentacle above his head. "Don't tell me you used all your power to ward me away while you were in that pitiful digimon form. Defeating you is going to be the easiest thing in my life." He brought the tentacle downward in an arc towards the Guardian's unprotected body.  
"There's no way I'm having that creep harm him," Parker breathed, looking into his jacket for his gun. It was seconds later that he remembered that the weapon was in his hands - but it was too late for action. The slimy appendage slammed onto the Guardian's chest, pushing him further into the jagged rocks he was lying on. No cry escaped the angel's mouth, and not even a finger rose to show that he was alive.  
"This isn't good," Buck gasped. "You were right, Frank - not even he is invincible."  
"We can't let Dagomon continue attacking him!" Parker grunted. "If he kills him, this Conundrum thing will be out of our hands! Oh, if only we had more time...."  
A shining light glowed through Parker's jacket pocket. He pocketed his gun and slowly stuck his hand inside - he remembered putting his digivice in there. Now there was something different about it - and it wasn't just the light. Parker pulled the object out: It was a D3 version digivice, the handgrip a steel gray against a white palm-fitted body. An antenna was still sticking out of a part of it, but the screen this time was larger, and there were only two buttons shaped like arrows below it.  
Bewildered, Parker looked back at Buck. The digivice at the reporter's waist was also a D3, but the handgrip was silver. And, like Parker's, the screen was shining with a blue-green light.  
"You know what's up with these things?" Parker asked, showing Buck the D3.  
"Don't ask me," Buck snapped. "That Guardian's what we should be worried about."  
Parker glanced back at the Guardian - Dagomon had not continued to attack him. The monster was almost above the angel's body, though, attempting to shield his eyes from something with his remaining tentacle.  
"How can this be possible?" Dagomon gasped.  
Parker had no idea what Dagomon was talking about. Looking back at Tentomon, though, made everything clear.  
The digimon was ... glowing.  
And not just him ... Elecmon was also engulfed in a golden aura.  
The aura that surrounds an evolving digimon  
"They're not evolving with the digimentals," Parker gasped.  
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Buck replied rather rapidly.  
A few moments later two new voices echoed their names across the grayscale world.  
"Tentomon, evolve! Kabuterimon!"  
"Elecmon, evolve! Kentarumon!"  
Two strange digimon arose from the golden light. Tentomon had transformed into a gigantic black insect, its gleaming shell reflecting what little light there was in the grayscale realm. It had two pairs of arms with clawed hands, and a large pair of legs that supported the creature. Two pairs of semi-transparent wings were on its back, and a helmet-like structure with a horn sticking out where the nose would be decorated its head.  
The other digimon looked like a centaur, with a helmet revealing a single red eye in the center of its face. It pawed the ground and seemed to stare down at Dagomon.  
Parker blinked rather blankly. "All right - what just happened?" he asked, straining to look up at Kabuterimon's face.  
"They ... evolved," Hikari stammered.  
"You'd better go see this, Buck," Parker said, turning in Buck's direction. The reporter, though, was already staring at Kentarumon with fascination in his eyes. It was probably the first time he had looked upon a digimon kindly.  
"I think I remember you from somewhere," Buck breathed.  
"Of course," the centaur replied. "I'm the evolved from of Elecmon. I remember you used to ride on me often."  
"Yeah, sure," Buck scoffed.  
"You two, stop the reunion and let's drive that dumb Dagomon out of here," Parker said, an urgent tone in his voice. "Kabuterimon?"  
The insect seemed to nod his head. "Yes, Frank?"  
"Let me get on you, and then we'll attack Dagomon."  
"Okay." Kabuterimon dropped one of his hands to the rocks, allowing Parker to climb on it. The insect raised his hand to his head, and Parker jumped off, finding support on the large antler. "Is that fine?"  
"Perfect. Now let's go!"  
The wings on Kabuterimon's back started to vibrate. The hum of buzzing wings filled the rocky bluff, blowing hair and clothes in various directions. Momentarily the lumbering insect rose from the rocks, surprisingly speeding its way towards the squid-like enemy.  
"Kabuterimon, go circle around behind Dagomon!" Parker ordered. "Buck, take the front!"  
"Got it!" Buck climbed onto Kentarumon's back and dug his heels into his side. "Come on!"  
"Next time, Buck, don't treat me like a horse," Kentarumon sighed as he galloped away from the children. "Now, you have any ideas for attack?"  
"I don't know," Buck shrugged, holding on to Kentarumon's shoulders. "Fire a special attack, I don't care."  
"Fine." Kentarumon raised his right arm before his body. A modified gun barrel emerged from his palm, flanked by small metal spires. The smell of cackling electricity filled Buck's nose as a ball of bluish energy formed at Kentarumon's hand.  
"Hunting ... Cannon!"  
Buck was nearly thrown off his mount as the blue thunder ball was launched. It crashed squarely on Dagomon's chest, spreading across his moist body.  
"Oh my god," Buck breathed. "I've got an idea! Hey, Frank!"  
Frank waved a hand from somewhere behind Dagomon in acknowledgement. "What is it?" he yelled back, faintly heard over the still-cackling electricity in the air.  
"We should attack together with electric attacks! Dagomon's an aquatic creature, so we could amplify the electric shock!"  
"Good idea - but I don't know if Kabuterimon has an electricity-based attack!" Parker hollered.  
"Then let's attack together anyway!"  
"Fine! Kabuterimon, get ready!"  
"You too, Kentarumon!"  
Kentarumon brought his arm before him again, gathering electricity with the strange metal spires on his hand. Within moments a ball of electric energy, cackling wildly, was formed, ready for launch.  
Kabuterimon brought his arms close to his armored chest. A slight blue glow could be seen formed inside, electric for sure - the burning smell made Parker turn away in disgust.  
"Fire!" Parker called out, impatient.  
"Hunting Cannon!"  
"Mega ... Blaster!"  
Simultaneously the two digimon set forth their attacks. Kabuterimon opened his arms out from his chest, sending out a river of blue electricity towards Dagomon's unprotected back. It ran across the entire digimon's body, meeting with the energy fired from Kentarumon's hand. The land seemed to turn white in the aftermath of the assault.  
Moments later, the light died out. Parker found himself back on the rocky bluff, standing beside Buck, Hikari, and Takeru. Kentarumon and Kabuterimon had reverted to Elecmon and Tentomon, and were standing by their partners' feet. Strangely, though, the Guardian was standing before them, restored to the majesty he had been surrounded in before he had battled.  
"Frank, Buck," the Guardian spoke in his low voice, "I thank you for driving away Dagomon. The strategy was very clever of you two - you still battle as well as you did sixteen years past."  
Parker and Buck nodded solemnly, yet strangely kept silent.  
Takeru adjusted the hat on his head and looked up into the Guardian's face. "Are you going to take us home, then?" he asked timidly.  
The angel bent his head. "Yes. But first we must go to the Center."  
"Oh no - not this again," the Japanese children groaned.  
"What's up with them?" Buck asked, turning to Parker, but his friend could only shrug.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Talmadge and Owsley viewed the surveillance videos from the American Embassy in Tokyo, the two of them sipping at flat soda. The project director of Backstep thumbed a remote control on the table, occasionally rewinding the tape. Minutes later he shook his head, a shaken look on his firm face.  
"I don't believe it," Talmadge breathed, reaching for a cigar from a box. "Frank, Buck, and those stuffed animals are at one moment watching television, and then they just vanish! Do you have anything to explain this, Andrew?"  
Owsley shook his head. "Nope. Even called the Embassy - they report no disturbance in their room, except finding only their belongings in it the next day. And there was nobody outside making them disappear."  
Talmadge sighed. "Great - a mystery nested in an enigma." He lit his cigar and chewed upon it. "Just one thing, though, Andrew."  
"What?"  
"Can you explain why Frank and Buck have stuffed animals?"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Center  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker and Buck probably couldn't explain the science behind it. One moment they, their digimon, the two Japanese children, and the Guardian were standing on the rocky bluff in the Dark Ocean realm. Seconds later the landscape faded into white light, soon fading away to a gigantic circular room lined with narrow, wall-length windows edged ornately with gold. Unlike the Dark Ocean, this place was in full color.  
"So this is the Center," Parker gasped in awe, turning to see the entire room. He attempted to count the windows, yet once he counted fifty he had lost count.  
"It's so ... beautiful," Buck breathed. "And it's in color!"  
"Gives us a reason to protect this place," Parker added. "I wouldn't want this piece of art to go down the drain." He turned to face the stern yet gentle Guardian. "So, how are we going to get home?"  
"Through that window over there," the Guardian lowed, pointing his gloved hand towards a window to his right - Parker's left. Parker and Buck turned in that direction - they could see Owsley's quarters in NNL on the other side. Owsley was sitting in front of his computer, probably tweaking with some program or overlooking the Digital Conundrum information.  
"Well, won't we look a little strange if we just suddenly appear in Andrew's room?" Buck asked skeptically.  
"The Digital Gateway will not be open for a long time," the Guardian scolded. "Now you and Frank leave - the children have to return to Tokyo."  
"Okay," Buck muttered. Slowly the two men and their partner digimon walked to the window. A shattering sound echoed through the room as they walked through, the glassy surface rippling like water in their wake. Momentarily Takeru and Hikari could see the two men being confronted by a post-college man dressed rather casually for the office before the scene turned to the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo.  
"It's time for us to go home, Takeru and Hikari," the Guardian said at last. "Are you ready?"  
The children nodded - it was the first time they had heard the digimon say their names. "That sounds like a good idea," Takeru sighed. "Come on. Let's go home."  
Silently the two Chosen Children, the sleeping Tailmon, and the majestic Guardian walked towards the window to their home, their hands clasped in one another's. All that was left of their presence in the Center was the shattering sound of breaking through the Gateway and two yellow empty SCUBA air tanks.  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - Odaiba Elementary School Computer Room, Tokyo, Japan  
Time - eight hours before Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
The computers in the Computer Room at Odaiba Elementary were always placed in Hibernate Mode during the summer recess. Japan goes by a different school schedule than America - the year starts in the spring, with their summer break the equivalent to the American winter recess. For that reason, no data was deleted from the newly purchased computers, at least until the next spring.  
A bright light shone from one of the computers near the windows. That obviously couldn't be - nobody would be on school grounds near midnight. Yet if one was close enough to the school, you could see two young children take form in the glow. Minutes later the light dimmed, making it impossible to tell who was there.  
Takeru, Hikari, and Tailmon landed with the same roughness on the ground as with every trip through the Digital Gateway. They rubbed their heads, and in Tailmon's case, rubbed her eyes, too.  
"Since when did we get back?" Tailmon groaned, jumping into Hikari's arms. "I was asleep."  
"Oh, we just met some adult Chosen Children," Hikari laughed. "Frank and Buck were pretty nice."  
"Yeah, they were," Takeru laughed. "Hey, that reminds me - I forgot to get Buck to sign something!"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Buck's the famous American reporter!"  
Sparkles danced in Hikari's eyes, despite the darkness of the room. "You mean the guy that was in Israel when the Russians and all the others started attacking while we were fighting Apocalymon? Wow!"  
"Oh well, we'll probably run into them again," Takeru sighed. "Say, you know where the Guardian is? We'd easily notice him in here."  
"Takeru...."  
A faint moan was heard near Takeru's side. Slowly the boy turned, finding a bruised and battered Patamon there. Carefully Takeru lifted the digimon and held him close to his chest.  
"You'll be all right, Patamon," Takeru said, tears rising to his eyes. It wasn't the first time he had cried with his digimon in his arms. Even if Patamon was shocked by the affection Takeru gave him, he seemed too weak to even respond.  
"I remember falling into the ocean," Patamon moaned weakly, his face buried in Takeru's shirt. "And then I blanked out. What happened?"  
So he doesn't know that he's the Guardian, Takeru told himself mentally. "You just had a bad dream, Patamon. But now we're home."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - NNL  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Parker, Buck, Tentomon, and Elecmon emerged out of Owsley's computer in a flash of bright golden light. A quick glance towards a digital clock by the computer told the men that it was a little past eight in the morning - the date, though, was lost to them.  
"Well, we're back in Owsley's pad," Parker groaned, climbing to his feet. He held out a hand to help up Buck. "Where do you think the kid went?"  
"Jeez, don't make such a racket," Owsley's droning voice came from a corner. "I'm trying to get some sleep."  
Parker and Buck turned to where they heard the resident nerd. He was lying on the couch, an undersized Power Rangers blanket draped over his body. His glasses were hanging haphazardly over his eyes.  
"Owls, it's me and Buck," Frank scoffed. "Now get up. It's past eight."  
Reluctantly Owsley climbed out of the blanket, righted his glasses, and stood up. He was wearing pajamas decorated with various images of Spiderman. "Well, at least you two finally made it back. It's been almost three days."  
"Three days?" Parker and Buck gasped. "This can't be good," Parker added.  
"Why's that?" Owsley asked rather blankly.  
"Well, the disappearances are supposed to take place at midnight Greenwich time."  
"You still have plenty of time," Owsley droned, walking back to his makeshift bed. "Just eight more hours to set the world right. Oh yeah, some Japanese kid named Daisuke or something like that left you a message on the Digivice program. I recorded it on the computer."  
"Thanks," Parker sighed. He walked over to the computer, relieved that the Digivice program Owsley used was still open. There was a little envelope icon by Parker's name. Buck moved the mouse to the icon and clicked the left button twice.  
Daisuke's face lit up a window somewhere on the monitor. He was speaking in Japanese, but there were subtitles to what he was saying.  
"Hey, Frank and Buck! Listen, we have some really big trouble out here in the Digital World, and you're the only guys I thought could back us up. You see, these two creeps, Archnemon and Mummymon, they combined a hundred Dark Towers into a single digimon. This digimon is Black War Greymon, and he has a hankering to destroy these Holy Stones scattered across the world. Problem is, he's going after them much faster now that he sees a strange vision in the ruins. From what I've seen, it looks like an angel with a white miter and white clothing. Frank, Buck, I know you probably won't understand this message, but please come - if you don't, Earth and Digital World will be in dire trouble. Meet us at the Holy Point - the coordinates are being sent to your digivices now. Oh yeah - tell us if you've run into Hikari and Takeru recently. Bye!"  
The image then flashed off the screen, and the envelope icon vanished.  
"Looks like we have a little date with some old friends of ours," Parker said with a glint in his eyes.  
"Old friends my rotten Digitama," Tentomon and Elecmon grumbled in unison.  
  
Itsudemo Aeru Kara and ending animation plays....   
  
{author's note: the next episode of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM is the FAQ issue! Most questions about the first seven parts of the story will be answered, along with minor spoilers for subsequent chapters. Also, Frank and Buck will reveal their image songs. And don't forget the grand finale: a preview of BACKSTEP 09 and the starting and ending themes to commemorate that issue! This is one episode of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM you don't want to miss!}  



	8. Special Issue 01 - Just the Facts (throu...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue  
Frequently Asked Questions from Backstep 00 to Backstep 06  
  
I've gotten quite a few e-mails - for some reason everyone sends their comments on DIGITAL CONUNDRUM via e-mail - and most of them have some sort of question about the story. More often than not, I get things like "what the heck is Seven Days?" and "there's a Left Behind movie?" and "there's a Left Behind book series, too?" So me, Frank Parker, and Buck Williams all decided to go through all these e-mails and answer your questions. Also, some people wanted to know when - if ever - Frank and Buck save the world. So I've put a little preview of Part 09, Angel's Trumpet Sounding. Hopefully this segment answers all your questions!  
~ the author.  
  
SECTION ONE: THE CROSSED-OVER SERIES  
  
Q: "Seven Days" - what is it?  
A: "Seven Days" is an American television series about a young man named Frank Parker, who is recruited in a secret government agency that deals with time travel. Whenever the world is in serious trouble (say, the president has been shot), Parker climbs into his Sphere and takes off to save the world. The only problem is that the machine can only go back in time seven days. "Seven Days" had run for three seasons starting in 1998; the last episode was aired in the February of 2001.  
  
Q: What the heck is "Left Behind"?  
A: "Left Behind" is an American book series that is a fictional account of life in what is known in the Bible as the "Tribulation". Rayford Steele, Cameron "Buck" Williams, and Rayford's daughter (and soon even more people) team up against Nicolae Carpathia, the self-declared ruler of the world after a set of mysterious disappearances. It just so happens, though, that jolly Saint Nick is actually possessed by the Devil later on in the series. The series is projected to be twelve novels long, but eight have already been released and the ninth book is set to come out in the October of 2001.  
  
Q: Isn't there a "Left Behind" movie, also?  
A: Yes, there is a "Left Behind" movie. It was released to theaters in the February of 2001.  
  
Q: How come I haven't seen ads for the movie, or even a premiere in New York or LA?  
A: That's because the movie was only released in select cities in the American Midwest (in Michigan, Kansas, and I think Illinois and Indiana) and in Canada.  
  
Q: Are there any differences between the book and movie?  
A: Many! For instance, Buck and Hattie already know each other; Buck seems to already know Rayford; Buck is a newscaster, not a newsmagazine journalist; Nicolae seems to have a conscience; Buck gets a disk with information on world upheaval; we actually meet Rayford's wife and son; Buck's interview with Chaim occurs days, not months, before the disappearances; Buck is shot at by a sniper; Buck doesn't go to England to speak with a friend, but instead talks to him at the start of the film in New York; and Hattie claims her job with Nicolae before the disappearances. Also, the movie starts with Buck's interview with Chaim, not with the disappearances.  
  
SECTION TWO: MISTAKES AND OTHER STUFF  
  
Q: Why do you say in the first few chapters that the original "Digimon Adventure" occurs five years ago, then change it to three in "Backstep 06: Journey to the Center of the (Digital) Earth"?  
A: I made a boo-boo. In parts 00 through 05, any reference to the past "Digimon Adventure" series is supposed to take place three years ago, not five as in the American timeline.  
  
Q: What happened to Buck's copy of the Digital Conundrum disk?  
A: It's still in his watch.  
  
Q: Then where's Parker's?  
A: It's in Owsley's computer.  
  
Q: Why does Patamon not remember what happens after he (as Angemon) drove away Dagomon?  
A: The full reason will not be revealed until later - it is very complicated and will ruin the story. But it has something to do with a Chosen Child from Frank and Buck's time.  
  
Q: Why does Holy Angemon look different?  
A: As explained in the note to "Little Birdies are Going to Fall from the Sky", this is the Holy Angemon from the Digimon V-Tamer manga. And he is different from Takeru's Holy Angemon - see the answer to above question for why I can't elaborate.  
  
Q: What exactly happened to Frank and Buck sixteen years before "Digital Conundrum"?  
A: You'll find out in later chapters. A short summary of what happened to them is actually described in the second to last episode of "Digimon Adventure", since they are two of the five (six?) that originally saved the Digital World.  
  
Q: Are Frank and Buck really two of the original Chosen Children?  
A: No. Heck, nobody knows who they are! This story is meant to answer the question: "Who really are those original Chosen Children?"  
  
Q: Will more Chosen Children be revealed?  
A: Yes. Two more will be introduced around part 15, and another will be mentioned (not introduced formally) a little after that.  
  
Q: Can you tell us who they are?  
A: No! I'll ruin the surprise!  
  
Q: Why do Buck and Parker's Tags look different?  
A: They're the ORIGINAL Chosen Children - of course their Tags will look different!  
  
Q: Is Frank's full name really "Francis"?  
A: In some fanfics his full name is written as Francis, but I don't recall the name being used on the show. It wasn't even written as Francis on the official Seven Days site.  
  
Q: What did Frank do to prevent a Digital Conundrum a year before this all started?  
A: In the last episode of Seven Days, "Revelation", Frank Parker fought against the Devil - and of course, he won.  
  
Q: What are Buck and Parker's Crests?  
A: You'll find out very soon, but you can take a hint from what they said before their digimon evolved without the digimentals.  
  
Q: Does Buck really hate being called Cameron?  
A: Actually, he doesn't - his father calls him Cameron during phone conversations. He just hates being called Cam.  
  
Q: Was Buck ever called Cam in "Left Behind"?  
A: Actually, I don't think he ever was.  
  
Q: Why do Delores and Nicolae always eat ramen?  
A: Because they like ramen.  
  
Q: Then why does Delores always spill ramen on her dress?  
A: Because she's always placing the bowl on her lap, then stands up and forgets that she had placed it there!  
  
Q: Will Frank and Buck actually save the day in Part 09?  
A: Be patient! I'll get to that!  
  
Q: What the heck were Takeru and Hikari doing in the Dark Ocean?  
A: "Digital Conundrum" takes place in an alternate "Digimon Adventure" world. I somewhat explained this in "Part 01: Dark Ocean High Tide". Takeru, of course, follows Hikari into the Dark Ocean - but is smart enough to take her backpack, which explains why Hikari has her D3. Also, Hikari chooses to go against this Dark Undersea Master, who is defined in the Japanese series as Dagomon.  
  
Q: How old are Frank and Buck?  
A: Good question. The official Seven Days site said that Frank is twenty-nine years old. In the book "Nicolae", it says that Buck is thirty-two years old after the mass disappearances, which would make him about thirty-one right now. So though it seems that Buck takes a back seat to Frank, he's actually a few years older.  
  
Q: When exactly does this story take place?  
A: A general timeframe would be in the year 2002. In Digimon Adventure 02, that would be when the Chosen Children are out protecting the Holy Stones. At the same time, this also goes way beyond the current Seven Days timeline, placing it over a year after the last episode, "Revelation". Since there is no strict timeframe for Left Behind, I just set it so that Buck's interview with Chaim takes place at the same time as the end of Digimon Adventure - making this also occur in an alternate Left Behind universe because Buck's interview in the book takes place a month before the disappearances (or, according to the movie, a few days prior).  
  
Q: You spelled "Silphymon" wrong in Part 00.  
A: I know. I'll change it next time she appears in the story.  
  
SECTION THREE: IMAGE SONGS  
  
Q: What is Frank's image song?  
A: Frank Parker' image song is "No Fear", which is taken off the "Left Behind" movie soundtrack. The artist's name escapes me now. You can hear it on the Left Behind movie site at www.leftbehind-themovie.com. It's in the "Products" section, then click on Soundtrack, then Previews.  
  
Q: What's Buck's image song, then?  
A: Buck's image song is "Believer", which is actually his image song from the Left Behind movie. The band who performs this song is Jake. You can hear the chorus of the song in the Left Behind movie in the scene where Buck's in the restroom. To hear the full song, though, buy the Left Behind movie soundtrack.  
  
Q: Aren't the "Digital Conundrum" start and end themes actually "Digimon" songs?  
A: Yes - apparently you didn't read the disclaimer for part 03! "VERSION UP" is Koushirou's image song, and "Itsudemo Aeru Kara" is Mimi's. The only CDs that I know you can get both these songs on are "Digimon Adventure Song and Music File version 2" and "Digimon Adventure Best Hit Parade".  
  
Q: But isn't the version of "Itsudemo Aeru Kara" on "Best Hit Parade" different?  
A: I think. The liner notes to "Best Hit Parade" do say that it's a previously unreleased version.  
  
Q: You mentioned new themes for "Part 09: Angel's Trumpet Sounding".  
A: Right, I did. For this part only, the opening theme is "Left Behind" (the 'opening theme' to the Left Behind movie that wasn't played), and the ending theme is "Midnight Cry" (the 'ending theme' to the Left Behind movie).  
  
Q: But isn't "Midnight Cry", well ... kind of blatant?  
A: Well, only the chorus. Buck and Frank had to endure listening to the full song, though - in the ending, they protest a little against the chorus.  
  
Q: Why?  
A: Because I don't think that fanfiction readers and characters would want to endure a song that talks about religion! In a good way, I mean. But still, I have to appeal to everyone.  
  
Q: Where could I hear these songs?  
A: Both of these songs can be heard on the official Left Behind movie site. They're in the Multimedia section, I think. The songs are in the Music Videos subsections, so you'll see the music videos for them. Don't miss the part where Buck runs away from a burning car!  
  
SECTION FOUR: A PREVIEW OF PART 09  
  
All impatient fans, here's the sneak peek you've been waiting for! Watch how Frank and Buck try to ward off Delores, Nicolae, and Black War Greymon in this explosive excerpt! (Caution - this may not necessarily be in the final version.)  
  
Backstep 09  
Angel's Trumpet Sounding  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
Location - the Ramen Pond  
Time - two days past projected Digital Conundrum  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Frank, Buck, and the Chosen Children ran to the pond, taking positions behind the two human-disguised digimon that had arrived moments before. It wasn't hard to find cover amongst the tightly packed stalks of the bamboo forest. Yet despite the denseness of the bamboo, the Chosen Children had a clear view of their digimon.  
Paildramon, Silphymon, Angemon, Ankylomon, Kabuterimon and Kentarumon were standing - or hovering - before a spherical stone dripping with ramen. All of them were at a battle ready, but Parker and Buck could notice a sickly pallor about Angemon.  
"I wonder why Takeru let his partner fight," Buck whispered, pulling close to Parker.  
"It's stubbornness," Parker scowled, reaching into his jacket. "Besides, if all else fails, we have these." He pulled out two guns and slapped one into Buck's hands firmly.  
Buck looked down at the small weapon and tucked it in his belt. "Some defense," he muttered, staring back out at the scene. "What about the kids?"  
"We don't have any jurisdiction over them." Parker looked back at the digimon - Angemon seemed to be short of breath, just hovering above Kentarumon. "Besides, we could only understand each other if the Guardian's around."  
Buck shrugged. He knew all too well about the language barrier between the Japanese children and themselves. And yet despite that large gap, the children were listening intently to Nicolae and Delores speak in English.  
"Stupid digimon," Delores crooned, biting on a gloved finger. "You really think you can protect that Holy Stone?" She turned her head, glaring her sunglass-covered eyes towards the digimon. "Especially you, Guardian?"  
"Let me finish them off," Nicolae spoke in his thick Romanian accent. He revealed his trademark machine gun from his overcoat, yet still remained in his human form.  
"Battling the Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope is not a task for such lowlifes as you."  
Nicolae and Delores slowly turned away from the Holy Stone, their bodies turning rigid. Slowly they bent their heads towards the strangely blue sky, in the direction of the children's hiding place. Delores' eyes narrowed in realization, and Nicolae released his hold on his weapon. A dull clatter came even to the children's ears as the gun fell to the grass.  
"Black ... Black War Greymon," Nicolae stammered, backing into Delores. "Uh, we did not ... expect you ... here." He tried to stifle a chuckle, but it burst out of his mouth a little louder than anticipated.  
"I've been sensing the Holy Stone longer than you weaklings have," Black War Greymon growled, inching his armored face into Nicolae's. "And that pitiful Guardian must have, as well." He raised his head, seeming to stare down at the digimon defending the Holy Stone. "It's a miracle that he's still alive, even with one stone standing."  
"Well, then, go get him, and the other digimon, too!" Delores screeched. "What are you waiting for?"  
"You two have no authority to order me," Black War Greymon snorted disdainfully. One of his claws glowed with a faint white aura. "Dramon Killer!"  
The dark dragon swept his claw in a wide arc, felling bamboo stalks and sending Delores and Nicolae into the air. Moments later a small dust cloud rose near the edge of the forest. A slight tremor shook the ground.  
"That got them out of the way," Black War Greymon chuckled evilly. "Now, Guardian," he continued, pointing a claw at the fatigued Angemon, "reveal your true form once again and battle me."  
Angemon seemed to struggle just to keep his head facing Black War Greymon. "I don't want to fight you," he groaned, hands tightening on his weapon. "Why do you insist that I am the Guardian?"  
"You grow weaker as the Holy Stones are destroyed," the dark dragon crooned. "You, the stones, and the Center are all connected. And when I destroy this final Holy Stone ... I shall be glad to be done with you."  
"You don't know what you're saying!" Angemon cried, his voice labored. "Destroy the Holy Stone, and you bring the seven-year darkness - the Digital Conundrum! Is this what you want?"  
"Destroying the Holy Stones and their Guardian is my purpose in life," Black War Greymon snapped. He brought his arms over his head, and a gargantuan fireball formed between his clawed hands. "Gaia Force!"  
  
And that was your little sneak peak at Part 09. What will happen when Black War Greymon throws his special attack? Will this final Holy Stone be destroyed? And can Buck, Parker, and the Chosen Children prevent the Guardian from sounding the Trumpet of Hope? You'll just have to find out when the full version of Part 09 is released.  
  
Thanks for being patient waiting for this installment of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM. I'll go back on track next time by posting Part 07, Realization of Memories - Holy Point Revisited. Arigato!  



	9. Realization of Memories -- Holy Point Re...

[Copy / paste disclaimer here. And I corrected Silphymon's attack name from the American one to Japanese.]   
  
  
  
Backstep 07   
The Realizing of Memories - Holy Point Revisited   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Takaishi residence, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan   
Time - seven hours before Digital Conundrum   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
"Haha, tada ima!" Takeru called out in Japanese as he entered the dark apartment, slipping off his shoes. "I'm home, Mother!" He placed his shoes by his mother's, soon noticing two other pairs on the opposite side of the entryway. They looked familiar. Taking in the long-forgotten scent of home, Takeru walked towards the living room, gingerly holding a sleeping Patamon against his chest.   
"Takeru? Is that you?" a voice called.   
Takeru's ears perked up. Quickly he ran into the room. The sight before him brought a tear to his eyes.   
Ms. Takaishi, Yamato, and Mr. Ishida were seated upon the couch, staring off into infinity. They didn't look up to see the boy enter on tiptoe into the room. Their heads were cradled in their hands, their faces expressionless.   
"Yamato? Mother? Dad?" Takeru ventured, staying by the living room entrance. "Sorry I got back late." He bowed slightly, abruptly going upright as he noticed Patamon moaning.   
Takeru's mother raised her head and rose from the couch. "Thank God you came home, Takeru," she smiled, running to her son's side. She brought her arms about Takeru and pulled him close.   
"Please, Mom, not so hard," Takeru protested, trying not to call attention to Patamon. Momentarily he felt his mother's arms release their hold.   
"Where were you?" Takeru's father asked in an unusually relieved voice.   
"Oh ... I was in Chiba with Hikari," Takeru said solemnly, looking over at Yamato. The knowing glint in his older brother's eyes told Takeru that he wanted to speak to him. "We were getting research for the class project we were doing with Daisuke."   
"You should've told us," Takeru's mother sighed. "Now come on and get to bed."   
Takeru nodded. "Okay."   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Parker's quarters, NNL   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Buck returned to Parker's cramped quarters in the NNL complex with a gauze bandage taped to his forehead. He plopped himself on Parker's bed, not noticing the two digimon that lay exhausted by his feet.   
"Frank's taking a shower," Tentomon buzzed, obviously bored. "And we can't get to the Digital World until it's a decent time in Japan."   
"Which is about six hours from now," Elecmon groaned. "Stupid time difference."   
"At least I have the time to take a shower, get dressed, and hope that Olga gets these dumb stitches out," Buck sighed. "Wake me when Frank's out."   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Takeru's bedroom, Takaishi residence, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
It was that dream again.   
The same dream that plagued Takeru for three years....   
He was at the base of Infinity Mountain, staring upwards into the crimson maw of Devimon's eyes. Patamon was hovering by Takeru's head, his ears disturbing the air to keep himself aloft. Long ago Takeru had heard the moans of digimon and Chosen Children in the area about him - this time there was only silence.   
"Legend said that the one with the digimon that was the last to evolve will be the one to destroy me," Devimon growled, his gargantuan, clawed hand reaching towards Takeru. "Death Claw!"   
In the past Takeru had ducked in the presence of the massive hand. Even though it had been three years, he still followed standard earthquake preparedness drill procedure - hands tucked over his head, crouching close to the ground. He could feel the wind against his neck as Patamon fired his special attack.   
"Air Shot! Air Shot!"   
It was futile, Takeru knew from experience. He could feel the dullness of darkness as Devimon's hand swept over him, snatching Patamon in the air. Then that horrible squeezing sound, like squeaking rubber, filled Takeru's ears. What was Devimon trying to prove - that he could destroy an innocent digimon with his bare hands? It wouldn't be the first time.   
Takeru's vision was blanked in white moments later. He stood up, finding Devimon's hands empty ... and a brilliant angel hovering overhead.   
Angemon.   
"What is this?" Devimon growled in dismay, using rather impolite Japanese terms. "Who are you?"   
"I am the one destined to defeat you," Angemon lowed in the Guardian's voice.   
Takeru shook his head in disbelief. He didn't remember this exchange occurring in the dream, or even when it actually happened! He recalled words of hope, the lights from the digivices, a blast of golden light ... and then Angemon's reconfiguration.... But not the Guardian - he may have heard his voice before, but not those words!   
"Damn it, tell me who you are!" Devimon roared, his voice breaking loose some boulders from the summit of Infinity Mountain. "What is your name?"   
A white aura formed around Angemon's body, shielding him from view. "I am the Guardian of the Trumpet of Hope," the digimon whispered. "The one destined to defeat you."   
"If you were the one to defeat me," Devimon laughed, "you should have arrived sooner. The island is already shrouded with darkness, and there's nothing you can do about it in your puny digimon form!" He extended one of his monstrous hands and swept it out towards the angel. "Death Claw!"   
Angemon did not move to dodge the assault. The dark hand slammed into the angel's side with a sickening crack, followed by a crunch as Angemon's body crashed limply into the mountainside, dissipating the aura about him. The digimon fell to the ground by Takeru's side, convulsing sporadically.   
"Not here," Angemon gasped in the Guardian's voice, bringing himself to a kneeling position with his staff. "The battle can not be fought here."   
"What do you mean?" Takeru asked blankly, turning to face his partner. "There's nobody here."   
Angemon's body again glowed with brightness, as did the landscape of Infinity Mountain. Takeru raised his arms and shielded his eyes, the light was so blinding. Only when he felt the brightness fade away from him did he lower his hands.   
Shock ran through the boy's body. This was not where he was last, the base of Infinity Mountain. The terrain was too ... flat. The only mountains were seemingly miles away all around him, tinted crimson by a blood red sun. There was no vegetation, save for a single skeleton of a tree devoid of foliage. Rust-colored dust blew across the plain, stinging Takeru's eyes.   
Momentarily the dust settled, and a form in white took shape. It was another angel, dressed in robes of white. Golden hair seemed to poke from behind an ivory miter that shielded his face from view. A naked sword, gleaming silver in the red light, was held in his gloved hands. He stopped before Takeru and held the sword to his side.   
"I am the Guardian," the angel stated, not seeming to take a glance at Takeru.   
"Where are we?" Takeru stammered. "And where's Devimon?"   
"This is the plain of Har-megiddon," the Guardian stated plainly; "and the beast you speak of is behind you. Behold."   
Takeru spun on his heels, surprise in his eyes. Devimon was standing there, a sinister smile playing on his lips. He looked smaller than he did at Infinity Mountain.   
"What are you going to do?" Takeru asked, turning to look into the Guardian's shielded face.   
"Stand back, Takeru," the Guardian warned. "I'll make him come."   
Warily Takeru backed away from the angel - there was no choice but to obey. The Guardian took the sword in his hands and brought it in a circle before him. A golden light was emitted from the sword's path, sucking in the crimson dust of the plain. Devimon, as well, was being drawn to the light, vanishing as the dust that had come before.   
"You will pay for what you have done!" Devimon cursed as he was sucked into the golden maw. He futilely extended his hands towards the Guardian. "Death Claw!"   
One of Devimon's claws sank into the Guardian's neck, expelling a gush of ivory blood. With a laugh only the insane would perform the dark digimon sank into the hole.   
And then the wind stopped.   
The Guardian, with a cry that would be a nine on the Richter scale, fell to the ground, a hand against his wound. Takeru, hesitant, inched towards the Guardian, yet the angel's sharp words brought him still.   
"You will be the only one who remembers what has occurred here on the plain of Har-megiddon," the Guardian gasped. "This memory will be shielded until the due time. But remember this, Takeru - greater blood has been shed on this battlefield before, and even greater toll will befall the next who battle on the plain during the seven-year darkness...."   
And in a flash of white light, the Guardian vanished, leaving nothing but a lone feather in his wake.   
  
Takeru sat up, panting as the first rays of daylight crept through his window. He looked down at his side - Patamon was sleeping, a telltale snot bubble expanding and contracting with every snore. The digimon seemed more relaxed than he was just hours before.   
Quietly Takeru took the alarm clock from his nightstand and glanced at it. Six o'clock already. Almost an hour before the computer room would be opened for summer school classes.   
Well, at least Patamon's okay now, Takeru thought with a sigh.   
Yet for some strange reason his nightmare did not easily vanish.   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Parker's quarters, NNL   
Time - two hours before Digital Conundrum   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Parker was sitting before his computer checking his e-mail when Buck emerged from the shower. The reporter hastily pulled on a fresh shirt and pants before taking a seat by his friend. The digimon, as they were hours before, were sleeping on Parker's bed.   
"Anything new, Frank?" Buck asked, catching a glimpse of the e-mail screen. There weren't many messages indicated upon it - must be something that comes with being a government agent, Buck mused. Journalists - especially Pulitzer Prize-winning ones like he - were swamped with e-mail day in and out.   
"Well, Talmadge went to the Middle East with the President earlier today to prevent the crash that was to happen later this evening," Parker stated, knowing that Buck wouldn't understand. "He's on his way back right now. And Owsley forwarded a message to all senior staff that he downloaded the latest version of QuickTime."   
"Anything good about that?"   
"Well, it does mean that Owsley can watch and contact us while we try to save the world tonight - along with a whole lot of other nerds like him."   
"Great," Buck moaned. "Just what we needed - the rest of the world learning about the Digital World."   
"Hey, nobody believed that it was real in the previous timeline," Parker laughed. He clicked on a few e-mails that he already read and deleted them. Only one was left on the screen.   
"Hmm," Parker mused. "Wonder who the heck Tsion Ben-Judah is," he muttered as he clicked on the remaining icon. A rather brief message flashed onto the screen.   
"Greetings, Frank and Cameron!" Buck read off the screen. He turned towards Parker, a quizzical expression furrowed in his forehead. "How did this guy know our given names?"   
Parker only shrugged indifferently.   
"Okay," Buck scoffed. "Let's see ... 'Things here in Jerusalem are going fine, ever since that treaty was signed last year. I know it's been sixteen years since I last saw you two - I'm sure that things are different in America now. Currently I'm studying the Messiah prophesies with other rabbis, hoping to find at least something in common with any living man. Yet something has bugged me for the past few days, like you two were in trouble with an old foe of ours. Well, here's a little verse I decided to send for inspiration - you two might remember it.'" He turned to look at Parker. "You wouldn't mind if I kept on reading, Frank?"   
"No," Parker muttered. "Go on."   
Buck exhaled quickly before he turned back to the screen. "'Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle'-"   
"Hey, I remember this!" Parker interrupted, scooting closer to the computer screen. Momentarily he nodded and leaned back in his chair. "The nuns back at the orphanage used to say this verse."   
"That's strange," Buck mused blankly. "The only time I've heard anything that started like that was sixteen years ago. How long were you in that orphanage, Frank?"   
"Oh, maybe until I was old enough to join the military." Parker stood up. "Why?"   
"Don't you find it somewhat coincidental," Buck said, "that some man that claims that he knew us sixteen years ago would send us something we haven't heard since then?"   
"It's not just coincidence," Parker sighed. "It's suspicious. According to the header, this e-mail was sent not but an hour ago."   
"So?"   
"I think this Tsion has some connection in the Digital Conundrum," Parker whispered. He deleted the e-mail and closed down a few more windows. "Just great - less than two hours before the world's screwed. Should we go to the Digital World now?"   
Buck nodded. "Sounds like a good time. Hey, Elecmon, Tentomon," he called out to the digimon, "wake up! We're going!"   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Holy Point, Digital World   
Time - one hour before Digital Conundrum   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, Hikari, and their digimon were keeping watch at the Holy Stone late in the Digital World evening. The spire that was the fourth Holy Stone shone with an aquamarine aura, the only light in the area other than the stars, the moon, and the glow of the D3s.   
"I wonder where Takeru and Iori are," Hikari muttered, glancing warily at the cliff-side road that led away from the spire. "They said they'd be here."   
"I'm just hoping that those two American overgrown Chosen Children get here," Daisuke groaned, plopping to the ground exhausted. "Where are Frank and Buck, anyway?"   
"You know Frank and Buck?" Hikari asked skeptically.   
"Yeah, of course," Daisuke boasted. "They stopped an argument over-"   
"Let's not get into that," Miyako laughed, slapping Daisuke squarely on the cheek. She turned to Hikari. "But how did you meet them? You said that you were in the World of Darkness for months with Takeru."   
"Well, they just ... came to our rescue," Hikari managed at last - and in more ways than one, she added mentally.   
"At least something's consistent," Daisuke scoffed. "Hikari, did you ever notice something strange about Buck?"   
This time the girl could only burst into giggles. "What do you mean? Buck's just a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist! There's nothing strange about that."   
Daisuke blushed, the deep red even visible in the darkness. "Well, that's strange enough for me!" he blurted suddenly.   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - somewhere else near the Holy Point, Digital World   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Takeru and Iori were padding away from the television that would send them back home when they heard the clacking of claws on brittle rock. Slowly the boys and their digimon turned back, finding only a yellowish reptile with a fur pelt draped over his body.   
"Gabumon?" Takeru said quizzically, tilting his head at an odd angle. "What're you doing here?"   
"Oh, I'm just came here to tell you something," the reptile breathed. "Agumon had a chat with Black War Greymon - and he says that he has a soul!"   
"A soul?" Takeru scoffed. "You've got to be kidding."   
"But Agumon insists that it's true," Gabumon continued. "No object would ask the soul-searching questions he did."   
"Gabumon, characters in computer games ask the same sort of questions because they're programmed to," Takeru sighed at last. "Why don't you go back and tell us if Black War Greymon's coming."   
Gabumon sighed reluctantly. "All right, Takeru."   
The digimon vanished into the shadows, right when a burst of white light was emitted from the television screen. Four shadows appeared: Frank, Buck, and their digimon.   
Frank muttered something in English, which the boys didn't catch.   
"I think they're speaking English," Iori said blankly. "Who are they, anyway?"   
"They're Frank Parker and Buck Williams," Takeru sighed. "They're Americans - though the last time I spoke to them, they were speaking in Japanese." He looked down at Patamon, who was still sleeping in his arms. "It must be like Frank said - the gift of tongues," he muttered.   
"What was that?"   
Takeru shook his head. "Oh, nothing." He motioned for Frank and Buck to follow. "Now come on - we have to meet Daisuke and the others at the Holy Point."   
  
Parker and Buck saw the slight gesture of Takeru's hand, an invitation to follow. They carefully traversed a ramshackle wood-plank bridge to catch up with the Japanese boys. Takeru and Iori were heatedly arguing over something, or so the men assumed.   
"I wish I actually knew Japanese," Buck sighed under Elecmon's weight on his shoulders.   
"And I thought journalists were supposed to know at least one foreign language," Parker laughed.   
"I do, Frank. It's called Latin."   
"As if anybody speaks Latin these days," Parker chuckled. "I had to learn it because the nuns spoke their prayers in that language - not that they do that anymore."   
"I learned it for the same reason," Buck laughed. He looked forward at the children that led the way through the winding canyon. "Don't you find it kind of strange?"   
"What?"   
"We have so much in common. We both have digimon, supposedly we knew each other sixteen years ago, and we also know Latin." He brought a finger to his chin. "Oh, yeah - the Guardian and that Ben guy from Israel claimed that they knew the two of us sixteen years ago-"   
"And Ben e-mailed us that verse that we both haven't seen in sixteen years," Parker finished. "You're right - it does sound kind of strange. You sure it isn't coincidental?"   
"I'd doubt it," Tentomon buzzed. "If you and Buck were Chosen sixteen years ago, there must've been a reason."   
"But what would that be?" Buck and Frank asked in unison.   
"Well, usually it has something to do with saving the Digital World," Elecmon grumbled. "These younger children have never encountered the Guardian before - maybe somebody needed some Chosen Children that had known him."   
"But weren't there others?" Buck queried. "Frank and I can't be the only ones."   
"Come to think of it," Tentomon started, "I think there were three others...."   
"Who?"   
"Oh, I forget."   
Parker and Buck groaned in defeat. "So it's just the two of us?" Parker asked rebelliously.   
"Yeah," Tentomon muttered.   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Holy Point, Digital World   
Time - two minutes before Digital Conundrum   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Daisuke looked down at the digivice in Ken's hands. Eight red dots were coming down the path along the cliff towards them. "Those must be Frank, Buck, Iori, and Takeru," he stated. "Can't they move any faster?"   
"They must be trying to communicate with each other if they're walking this slowly," Ken mused, still looking down at the digivice screen. A dark wave was inching its way towards the spire that was the Holy Stone. "And Black War Greymon's coming closer."   
"We should evolve - now," Miyako cried out cheerfully. "Lets try out this jogress evolution thing, Hikari."   
For the first time in months, Hikari nodded her head with a smile. "Okay."   
The canyon was briefly aglow in the lights of evolution as the digimon metamorphosed and two hearts became one.   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - an abandoned apartment building, Los Angeles, California, USA   
Time - one minute before Digital Conundrum   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Delores and Nicolae sat glumly before their array of computers, bowls of steaming ramen in their laps. It was sometime late in the Californian afternoon, the rare honking of a car breaking into their apartment.   
"Why must people return from work so early?" Nicolae groaned, dipping chopsticks into his ramen. "The sound of the horns hurts my ears."   
"Quit your whining," Delores snapped, slapping the Romanian president in the face. "The end of the Chosen Children is drawing near."   
"But how?" Nicolae rubbed his head, concealing a flushed handprint on his cheek. "We have tried to destroy the Center, and those oversized Chosen Children saved the Guardian from Dagomon. And we have been unable to hack into NNL, what with all those firewalls and such. What other alternative do we have?"   
Delores smiled wickedly behind her purple-tinted sunglasses. "We still have Black War Greymon. As long as he destroys the Holy Stones, the Guardian will grow weaker. And when the last Stone is destroyed-" here she imitated an explosion "- the Guardian will have blown the Trumpet, and all the Chosen Children will be gone." She laughed with fiendish glee in Nicolae's face. "And then the world will be ours!"   
In her hysteria Delores stood from her chair, forgetting about the ramen bowl in her lap. It spilled noodles, soup, and chopsticks across the floor and down her dress.   
"Blast!" she cursed. "Why does this always happen when I eat ramen?"   
  
-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Holy Point, Digital World   
Time - start of Digital Conundrum   
-------------------------------------------------   
  
Paildramon and Silphymon stood at the base of the Holy Stone, the two digimon at a battle ready. Their eyes stared off at an advancing patch of darkness visible against the tapestry of the stars.   
Black War Greymon.   
"You two go and get him this time!" Daisuke yelled from the top of the canyon. "You can do it!"   
"Yeah!" Miyako cheered. "Defend that Holy Stone!"   
The advancing shadow undauntedly continued to march forward. Moonlight glinted off the silver armor that accented his shielded body. A sinister rumble could be felt with each footfall - or was that just laughter?   
"What makes you think that you can protect that ancient piece of junk, anyway?" the rumble chuckled. "There's no more reason for them to stand anymore."   
"You destroy this Stone," Paildramon yelled, grasping the guns at his sides, "and you'll set this part of the Digital World into flux!" A blue light formed at the muzzle of the guns. "Desperado Blaster!"   
Shots of sky-blue light fired out towards the dark dragon; only the ping of metal meeting metal responded. Black War Greymon continued to advance.   
"And you think that will stop me?" he replied jokingly. "Try again."   
Silphymon brought her clawed hands before her body, gathering a crimson radiance into them. "It's my turn! Dual Sonic!"   
A ball of bright red rammed into Black War Greymon's side, briefly illuminating the canyon. Only the glare of the dragon's eyes in the temporary day told the horrifying truth - he was unharmed.   
"Nothing's working!" Ken gasped.   
"How can this be?" Miyako cried, framing head in her hands. "None of our attacks can harm him!"   
"Where are Frank and Buck?" Hikari queried to no-one in particular.   
A buzzing of enormous wings came to her response.   
"Mega Blaster!"   
"Hunting Cannon!"   
Two balls of blue, cackling electricity shot out from the other side of the canyon, both striking at Black War Greymon's back. The dragon groaned in slight agony, supporting himself on the ground.   
"Where did that come from?" he breathed, his breath short.   
Kabuterimon, with Parker and Buck alighted on his head, circled around the canyon to face the dark digimon. "It came from us, you big sissy!" Buck yelled out in English. "It's what you call reinforcements!"   
"The Americans," Black War Greymon gasped in Japanese, attempting to stand again. "Darn cocky Yankees."   
"Hey, don't diss the men there!" a gruff voice called from the cliff. "Say that again and you'll answer to more than just a wisecrack!"   
The children on the cliff, shocked, turned at the path that led to the Stone, where the voice had originated. Standing in the middle of the road was a tall centaur, Takeru and Iori upon its back, flanked by Armadimon and Patamon. The boys leaped off the centaur's back and flashed brief smiles.   
"Sorry we're late," Iori said. "We just got word from Gabumon that Black War Greymon has a heart."   
"What've I told you, Iori?" Takeru scolded, looking down at the boy. "Creatures made of darkness don't have hearts." He turned back to the other Chosen Children. "We came with Frank and Buck and thought we could help."   
"That's good," Daisuke sighed. "Now have your partners evolve and go help!"   
Iori turned to Armadimon and nodded his head. "You ready?"   
"Absolutely!" came the vigorous reply. "Armadimon, evolve! Ankylomon!"   
The armored dinosaur flung himself off the cliff, landing scant feet behind Black War Greymon. He swung back his bony tail, yelling, "Tail Hammer!"   
Slight shock ran through the earth as bone met flesh and metal. A red bruise could be seen on the dragon's ebony skin, despite the evening light. Black War Greymon roared in obvious pain, swerving about to stab Ankylomon with his claws.   
"You're not touching him!" the centaur bellowed, outreaching his right hand. A strange array emerged from the flesh, gathering electricity in his palm. "Hunting Cannon!"   
A ball of white light was released from his hand, striking Black War Greymon in the face. The dark dragon was flung to the far side of the canyon, meeting the wall with a sickening crunch.   
"Thanks, Kentarumon," Ankylomon chuckled in English, swerving to face Black War Greymon. Then, in Japanese: "Hey, Patamon, what's taking you?"   
Patamon, hovering by Takeru's head, raggedly chanced a glance at his partner. "They need me down there, Takeru," he whimpered, pointing with a stubby leg. "Let me evolve and fight!"   
Takeru could only look away from the battle, eyes closed tight. "No, Patamon. I can't. I won't!"   
"But why?" Patamon insisted. "Why?"   
Takeru angrily turned his head towards Patamon. "Because ... because-"   
He couldn't say anymore. It was as if something was clamping down his tongue, oppressing his very train of thought. Because I don't want to lose you again, that was what he had wanted to say. I lost you on Har-megiddon; I lost you in the Dark Ocean; I don't want to lose you now.   
And it's because ... you're the Guardian.   
"I ... I don't want what happened at the Dark Ocean to happen here," he finally whispered, closing his eyes. "I ... don't want you to get hurt."   
Patamon could only grin. "Is that all?" He laughed. "Come on, Takeru - I won't hurt myself."   
The strangely reassuring words brought Takeru to cheerful laughter. "Okay. I'll let you fight."   
With little more than a playful smile, Patamon glided down the canyon, his body glowing with a golden light. "Patamon, evolve! Angemon!"   
  
Parker and Buck, seated atop Kabuterimon's head, shielded their eyes as the brilliant angel completed its metamorphosis. Presently they brought down their arms, though spots of light danced before their eyes.   
Buck took out his D3 and pressed one of the buttons. An analyzer screen appeared, with the angel's picture and a few statistics written in English.   
"That thing's an ... Angemon," Buck read, looking up from the D3. "According to the D3, he's a creature of pure goodness, with even the power to defeat monsters at the...." He paused a moment to read the screen again. "Defeat monsters at the Final level? What's that?"   
"Hey, I don't know myself," Parker shrugged, looking gloomily at the battlefield below. "Buck, this doesn't look good."   
The reporter pocketed his D3 and turned to Parker. "What do you mean, Frank?"   
"In the previous timeline," Frank sighed, "when Angemon appeared ... everything got screwed."   
"Did he do something wrong?"   
Parker shook his head. "No, nothing like that. He transformed into the Guardian ... and then something weakened him tremendously, causing him to blow the Trumpet and make all those kids disappear - not to mention a whole lot more people back home."   
"So, what do we do?" Buck asked skeptically, glancing down the canyon below. "Angemon's already appeared - now what?"   
"We just have to prevent him from evolving to the Guardian - by protecting him."   
  
Angemon hovered before Black War Greymon, who had by now gotten sturdy on his feet again. The angel held his staff at a ready position, and was toying with it casually.   
Black War Greymon cocked his head at Angemon in a strange fashion. He seemed to be calculating something about the strange digimon, weighing him out. Occasionally the dragon would mutter something unintelligible in either Japanese or English. At long last he brought his head straight before his opponent, a rather sinister smile lurking upon his armored face.   
"I sense something strange about you," he snarled, advancing a single step towards the angel. "The Holy Stones ... you appear to bear the same power as them - and the legendary Center that they keep in balance." Stealthily he drew up a claw and brought them beneath Angemon's chin. "You ... Angemon ... are you the Guardian ... of the Holy Stones...?"   
Even if his answer was a negative, Angemon couldn't bring himself to shake his head. Sweat started to drip from beneath his helm. "No ... Black War Greymon," he whimpered, drawing himself taut. "I am not ... their Guardian."   
Hesitantly Black War Greymon brought his claw down to his side. "I know you lie," he hissed, eyes narrowing in anger. "Every angel of this world bears a different message; yours reads 'Chosen of the Supreme Deity to safeguard the seven Stones that hide the Call to the Golden Land'. Have you been blind to that ... Guardian?" he asked disdainfully, pointing to the sash that decorated the angel's body.   
Angemon, calm as he was, gave no reply.   
  
Takeru, on the edge of the road upon the canyon's side, bent down his head in thought. "Even as Angemon, he still denies that he's the Guardian," he whispered. "Does he even remember what happened at the Dark Ocean - does he remember Frank and Buck trying to save him?"   
Behind him, the other children were muttering amongst themselves. Most of it was talk of the Guardian, and Black War Greymon's peculiar behavior. A galloping crossed his hearing; the centaur - Kentarumon - was rushing down the canyon to Angemon's aid.   
"At least someone out there cares for him," he muttered, "other than myself."   
  
"You dare ignore me like this?"   
Black War Greymon withdrew his claw again from Angemon and backed into a battle ready. Some of the other digimon - Paildramon, Silphymon, Ankylomon, and Kentarumon - had rushed to the angel's side; Kabuterimon still hovered near the Holy Stone.   
"I say this again," Angemon managed firmly, now that the dragon had stepped away. "I am not the Guardian of the Holy Stones. I have no quarrel with you."   
One of Black War Greymon's claws started to glow with a gray light, and electricity began to cackle in the air. "Insolent Guardian!" he growled bitterly. "You and those with you will fall! Dramon Killer!"   
Swiftly the dragon brought his claw in an arc before him, knocking the digimon blockade towards the Holy Stone. The jogress types were slumped on the other side of the canyon, facing the Chosen Children; Ankylomon had fallen leadenly atop Kentarumon, directly beneath the kids; Angemon, seemingly lifeless, was sprawled face-down beside the Holy Stone.   
Black War Greymon chuckled, turned to face the stone and the angel beside it. "You've made this simpler than I thought it would, Guardian," he rumbled, taking steps towards the relic. "Now I shall take pleasure in destroying the Holy Stone - and perhaps yourself while I'm at it."   
"I ... will not ... allow you ... to touch ... the Stone."   
The dragon's eyes shrank in shock. Miraculously, Angemon brought up his staff and dragged himself to a standing position. He looked unharmed, yet something was unusual about him. His voice had gone deeper....   
  
Not again, Takeru thought in horror, opening his eyes.   
The Guardian.   
Angemon was speaking again ... as the Guardian.   
  
Buck turned to face Parker again, a quizzical expression upon his face.   
"Frank ... Angemon was speaking ... in English!"   
Parker glanced at the reporter. "Was he?"   
Buck nodded rapidly. "First, I just heard gibberish from all those kids and digimon - and then I heard the dragon say 'I'll take pleasure in destroying the Holy Stone', and then Angemon say 'I won't let you'!" He turned back to the battlefield. "Do you think ... that the Guardian's come back again?"   
Parker buried his face in his hands. "Please don't say that he is."   
  
Black War Greymon was toe to toe with Angemon now. He extended a claw outward and seized Angemon's neck. The angel could not resist the dragon's tight grasp; he lay limp, his staff falling from his hands. Desperate squeezing could be heard across the canyon, the stress of flesh and bone against metal and dark strength.   
"And even at your end, you just give in," the dragon crooned, lifting Angemon from the canyon floor. "Is that how angels are?" He brought his face close to the angel's, enough to see the hidden snicker from behind his armor. "You know, I can pop your neck, just like-"   
A burst of electricity cackled from above, striking Black War Greymon in his side.   
"Mega Blaster!"   
Black War Greymon tumbled to the far side of the canyon, the shock of the attack flinging Angemon from his claws. The angel slammed into the Holy Stone, but this time he did not show signs of moving again.   
And that was when the Holy Stone started to glow with a turquoise aura, enveloping the canyon entire.   
  
It's just like it was three years ago, Takeru mused, remembering his perpetual nightmare....   
Angemon had been forced into the side of Infinity Mountain, soon falling hundreds of feet to Takeru's side, perhaps in a state worse than he was now. And then that light had enveloped the entire battlefield ... transforming Angemon to the Guardian ... bringing the battle to the plain of Har-megiddon, the Crimson Battle-plain....   
And the battle played again in his mind, rewinding, fast-forwarding to that critical moment ... a single mote of darkness striking the Guardian's neck ... a single stroke, that's all it took to kill him then ... all it took on that blood-drenched battlefield....   
Remember ... greater toll will befall the next who will battle upon this plain during the seven-year darkness....   
Was that time ... at hand?   
It can't be now, Takeru desperately thought.   
Angemon can't bring the seven-year darkness upon us NOW!   
  
The light faded away, leaving the canyon as it was before.   
Chosen Children, young and adult, stood atop the canyon road, partners in Child-form beside them or in their hands - except for Takeru.   
His partner was beside the Holy Stone ... but how?   
A brilliant angel, a vision of ivory robes and wings, stood before the ancient relic, gleaming sword of silver in his hands.   
The Guardian.   
And before him was an armored dragon bathed in darkness - Black War Greymon.   
"I was right all along," the dragon snickered gleefully. "You were the Guardian of the Holy Stones - the creature I saw in their destruction." He pointed a claw at the angel. "And now ... you shall meet their fate!" He brought his arms above his head, forming a gargantuan fireball between his clawed hands. "Gaia Force!"   
The fireball plunged towards the Guardian, smashing into him and the Holy Stone behind with tremendous force. The stench of dust rose to the air as the fire let down; the Stone was now nothing more than crumbled rock.   
And atop the wreckage was a familiar, broken body: Patamon.   
"I hope you've learned your lesson, Guardian," Black War Greymon said. "Don't cross my path again."   
Before the dust even cleared from the canyon in full, the dragon lifted to the air, gliding off on his aimless wanderings.   
  
A beeping reached Parker's ears: his D3 was ringing. He pulled it from a pocket and, satisfied that the Japanese children were running down the canyon, pressed a button.   
Owsley was on the screen, this time in a change of clothes. "I saw the special," came the drone from the other side. "Why didn't you help the Guardian?"   
Buck cowered over the screen, a blank expression in his eyes. "I don't know," the two men said in unison.   
"It was as if something was ... stopping us," Buck continued. "A memory ... not my own, yet it was, familiar."   
"Same here," Parker sighed. "But look on the bright side: the kids are still around."   
"At least we got something done right." Owsley shifted off the screen, seeming to gather something. "Oh, yeah: D3 program now gives the locations of the three other Holy Stones. It'd be best if we gave you those coordinates so that you could defend those sites. I'm having Olga work on some way of concealing the Stones so that Black War Greymon can't find them that easily."   
"There's a problem," Parker interjected. "Black War Greymon can also detect the Guardian's presence, no matter what form he's in. What about that?"   
"You heard him," Owsley insisted. "The Guardian has the same properties as the Stones. If we can shield the Stones, then we can shield the Guardian, too."   
The men nodded in consent. "Okay," Parker sighed. "We're coming back now, and will be back within an hour." He pressed a button on the D3, replacing Owsley's face with the map grid.   
"Come on, Buck," he said, motioning for the reporter and the digimon to follow. "Let's go home."   
And so the two men walked the canyon road away from the ruins of the Holy Stone, leaving the Chosen Children to discuss amongst themselves what had occurred.   
  
  
  
[FAQ CORRECTION: I made a boo-boo in the last issue when dealing with the LEFT BEHIND timeline. Buck's interview in the book series takes place a year and two months before the disappearances, not one month; his cover story on the air attack was on a New Year's issue of his newsmagazine. And in the movie, the date of the disappearances was the Christmas of 2001 - though it didn't look like it. Of course, I changed the dates for reasons that are still the same as they were before. Sorry about this!]


	10. The Crest of Truth Revealed! Cameron Wi...

Backstep 08  
  
The Crest of Truth Revealed! Cameron William's Mysterious Evolution  
  
[copy/paste disclaimer here.]  
  
{"VERSION UP" and starting animation plays..}  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location - NNL Medical Room, NNL, USA  
  
Time - one hour and thirty minutes since projected Digital Conundrum  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Please don't tug on that bandage, Olga," Buck whimpered as the fiery- haired Russian scientist bent over him. "You'll pull out more than the stitches!"  
  
"It'll be fine, Mr. Williams," Olga crooned, gently taking the edge of the gauze on Buck's forehead. "Now just close your eyes and tell me what happened to you and Mr. Parker in this . Digital World that you went to."  
  
Buck exhaled and squeezed his eyes shut, bearing the discomfort of tape being pealed from his skin. "Fine, Dr. Vukavitch. But it'd be best if Frank help me tell the story. You still there, Frank?"  
  
A voice sounded from nearby. "Yeah, Buck. I'm still here. You want me to tell her?"  
  
"Go right on ahead."  
  
"Okay." Parker sighed. "Buck and I were trying to protect this Holy Stone from a creature called Black War Greymon. Black War Greymon had the Guardian in his hands and was about to kill him, but I told Kabuterimon to attack Black War Greymon.  
  
"And who's . Kabuterimon?" Olga asked, ripping the gauze bandage completely off Buck's forehead. The journalist lying on the padded cot stifled a yelp of temporary pain.  
  
"That's the, uh, evolved form of Tentomon," Parker managed nervously.  
  
"Oh," Olga replied blankly, dropping the bloodied gauze into the trash. She gathered a pair of stitch-removing scissors from a counter before moving back to Buck's side.  
  
"And then this really strange thing happened," Buck said, his eyes still shut. "This strange thing kept on playing in my head."  
  
"And mine, too," Parker added.  
  
"Well, what was it?" Olga asked, snipping at the stitches on Buck's forehead. "A song, a memory . what?"  
  
"It's . kind of hard to explain," Buck attempted. "Maybe it was something from or past, or maybe we just imagined it. I have no idea."  
  
"But we did see ourselves as teenagers in a strange desert," Parker continued. "Everything in this desert was crimson, even the sun."  
  
"And Frank and I weren't the only ones there. There was a very young girl, probably of elementary school age, and a man about as old as Frank, and this other girl that looked like you, Olga, but a few years younger."  
  
"I see," Olga said, pretending to be amused. "Anything else?"  
  
"We all had these little . stuffed animals by us," Buck said after much thought, seeming to conceal something. "Except for the man."  
  
"Was there anything special about the man?" Olga set down the scissors and motioned for Buck to sit up. "Other than his age and his lack of a . stuffed animal?"  
  
"He was wearing a skullcap," Parker said. "And he had a white angel before him."  
  
"Just like the one on the Digital Conundrum disk," Buck added, rising to his feet and opening his eyes. "Except he had a white sword instead of a hunting horn." He gingerly felt around his forehead. "Is my head okay now, Dr. Vukavitch?"  
  
"Physically, yes," Olga replied curtly; "mentally, I'm not sure. Mr. Parker," she started, turning towards the chrononaut, "could you recall the names of any of the people you saw in this vision?"  
  
"I recognized myself and Buck quite easily," Parker scoffed. "The others . I think the very young girl was named Chloe, the redhead was Svetlana, and that man.."  
  
"Ben. His name was Ben," Buck breathed. "The guy that sent us that e-mail."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location - Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan  
  
Time - eleven hours since projected Digital Conundrum  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
The summer day passed along slower than Takeru could bear. Resignedly he sat on the shore of the Bay of Tokyo, watching the sun lazily drag across the sky. All around he could hear children playing in the sands, splashing in the water, skating on the strand. Nobody bothered him - the other Chosen Children had gone home, and he had left Patamon at home to rest.  
  
Night fell late that evening, finding Takeru scuffing about the streets, hands in pockets. He looked up at the foreboding buildings that surrounded him, locating the Fuji Television Headquarters down the road. I'm nearby, he thought, slinking into a clean, deserted alley.  
  
A driving rock beat and an attempted countdown in English caught the boy's ear. He gravitated to one side of the alley, near an industrial- strength aluminum garage door. Light streamed out from beneath, interrupted by the occasional shadow. Warily Takeru banged on the door with his fists, and it wasn't long before he got an answer.  
  
"Who is it?" came an irritated voice - Takeru identified it as Yamato's. "You're disturbing our practice."  
  
"It's me, Takeru," he replied. "You wanted to talk to me last night."  
  
"Oh. Guys, I'll just be a minute."  
  
The door rolled up, revealing Yamato dressed laxly in his green school uniform. Two cans of ginger ale were in his hands. He handed one to Takeru before rolling down the door.  
  
"How's it been, Takeru?" Yamato smiled, popping open his can. Anything new recently?"  
  
This was unexpected, Takeru thought. "Well, no."  
  
"How was Chiba?"  
  
Takeru turned his eyes away from his brother. "Well, actually, Yamato . Hikari and I weren't in Chiba."  
  
"Well, you sure made it obvious to me," Yamato scoffed. "Where were you two? Taichi and I were in a fit."  
  
"We were in . the World of Darkness," Takeru muttered so only Yamato would hear. "We were dragged there . and we weren't able to escape."  
  
"I see." He took a sip of his soda. "Where's Patamon?"  
  
"That's the problem, Yamato." He stepped closer to his brother and opened his soda. "I couldn't bring Patamon here to discuss this . because I knew he would deny it. Yamato . remember what happened three years ago?"  
  
"What thing?"  
  
"You know, Yamato. On Infinity Mountain."  
  
"Oh, that." He lowered his head solemnly. "What about it?"  
  
"What happened there?" When he got no reply: "How did Angemon die?"  
  
Yamato shifted his eyes from his brother. "Everyone knows what happened there, Takeru. Angemon . used all his power to defeat Devimon. That's it." He gulped down the last of the ginger ale and crushed the can in his hands. "Why did you ask?"  
  
So even he doesn't know, Takeru mused. "No reason," he muttered. "Thanks."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location - Yagami residence, Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan  
  
Time - twelve hours since projected Digital Conundrum  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Six of the eight original Chosen Children were sitting on the floor in Taichi's room, dipping chopsticks into steaming bowls of ramen. Yamato had called the meeting after the rehearsal with his band - now everyone except Mimi and his younger brother was present.  
  
"Shouldn't we wait for Takeru?" Hikari asked after a few minutes, letting Tailmon jump onto Taichi's bed. "Does he need to hear this?"  
  
"We don't need to wait," Yamato sighed. "This concerns him . and Patamon. It would be best if he didn't know about this meeting."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What's up with Takeru these days, anyway?" Taichi scoffed, slurping noodles up the vacuum of his mouth. "I mean, that trip to Chiba-"  
  
"He didn't go to Chiba," Yamato scolded curtly. "He was trapped in another dimension with Hikari. And that," he turned to the other children, "is where it all begins."  
  
Jou, sitting across from Yamato, looked up from his ramen. "Is he having nightmares about what went on over the past three months?"  
  
"Well, no, not really," Yamato stalled. "But I think that what happened then may have triggered something."  
  
"Yamato, traumatic experiences usually set off rather unpleasant thoughts in a young person's mind," Koushirou mused between bites of ramen. "Can you tell me what exactly happened to him?"  
  
Yamato shrugged. "I don't really have a clear picture. But Takeru did ask me a strange question earlier."  
  
"What?" Sora asked.  
  
"He wanted to know what happened on Infinity Mountain three years ago. You know . when we defeated Devimon."  
  
Hikari blinked in confusion, but the rest of the group nodded their heads gravely. "I remember it rather well," Taichi muttered. "Patamon evolved to Angemon and used all his power to destroy Devimon."  
  
"I remember that, too," Sora said, and the other children - except Hikari - nodded consent. "Yamato, why would Takeru ask you?"  
  
Yamato slurped at a few noodles before he could manage a response. "Beats me."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location: somewhere near the fifth Holy Stone, Digital World  
  
Time: one day since projected Digital Conundrum  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Whoever created these stupid stones must've known where to hide them," Buck groaned as he clambered over the stones that haphazardly scattered the landscape. "I see a bunch of rocks."  
  
"Same here," Parker agreed, dragging behind the older man. In his hands were his D3 and a few wires. "Wish there was a signpost up around here."  
  
Kyuubimon and Tentomon could be seen retreating from the horizon in a cloud of dust towards the men. They had gone out ahead to locate the stone. When they were in sight of Parker and Buck, the men could tell that they were quite battered.  
  
"Black War Greymon already destroyed the stone," Kyuubimon gasped, catching his breath. "We got there just as he left."  
  
"Damn!" Parker cursed, throwing the wires to the ground. "Owsley and Olga created that Holy Stone-shielding program for nothing!"  
  
"You didn't even install it yet, Frank," Buck scolded.  
  
"Who cares?" Parker sulked, sharply turning away from the journalist. "All we know is that by this time tomorrow, the world will be three million people less."  
  
"Oh, come on, Frank, think positively," Tentomon buzzed, hovering to his partner's side. "Besides, I found something of interest in the Stone's ruins."  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"I think I found a Crest."  
  
Buck turned to face Parker, a blank expression crossing his face. "What's a Crest?"  
  
"They're those things that Obi-Wan wannabe told us to find while we were in the Dark Ocean," Parker grumbled disapprovingly, taking a glance at his D3. He could see a faint question-mark symbol over where the Holy Stone used to be marked. "You think we have time to check out this Crest, Buck?"  
  
Buck just shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location - somewhere near the sixth Holy Stone, Digital World  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
The Japanese Chosen Children and their digimon were standing by the edge of a vast inland ocean, surrounded by foreboding mountains. A steel-gray sky overhead threatened rain.  
  
"I just hope Jou was right about this," Iori stated as he climbed inside Submarimon's cockpit (all the digimon, except for Patamon, had Jogressed or Armor Evolved). "His partner did say that there was a Holy Stone down there."  
  
"Ikkakumon has a reputation for being quite reliable," Takeru muttered, clutching Patamon to his chest. The digimon in his arms was struggling to escape.  
  
"Why won't you let me evolve, too?" Patamon whined, trying to force himself out with his stubby forelegs. Though such effort would have succeeded in the past, it was no help to him now. "I want to fight!"  
  
"No!" Takeru scolded curtly, pulling the digimon closer to him. "Remember what happened the last time?" The boy fought tears as he recalled the short-lived battle. The Guardian didn't even make a stand..  
  
"I blanked out again," Patamon whimpered. "Just as I always have . these few days . when I evolve." He looked up at his partner's stern face. "What happens to me . after I evolve to Angemon, Takeru?"  
  
The other Chosen Children turned blankly at Takeru and his digimon, all with the same look in their eyes - he's the Guardian of the Holy Stones..  
  
"Well, Patamon," Takeru started, "after you evolve . nothing really happens." He sighed, but an incessant nagging filled his head.  
  
Why did you lie to him?  
  
"You just . uh . evolve to your Perfect form," he added quickly.  
  
There. At least I told him the truth . part of it.  
  
"That's not so bad now, is it?" Patamon smiled cheerfully, though it looked rather weak. "What do you find so bad in it?"  
  
Always with a rebound, Takeru thought in surprised glee. Jovial moods flowing through him once again, he released Patamon from his arms and allowed himself to laugh slightly. "Alright, Patamon. You can evolve."  
  
Patamon nodded an affirmative. "Patamon, evolve.!"  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location - ruins of the fifth Holy Stone, Digital World  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Buck, Frank, Kyuubimon and Tentomon found themselves minutes later in a vast valley, similar to the canyon that had hidden the Holy Point. There wasn't much to look at - fragments of silvery rock and a golden band engraved with Digital Hieroglyphs littered the floor amongst the red- colored boulders.  
  
"How are we supposed to find a Crest in all this junk?" Parker cursed, making sure he was heard.  
  
"It shouldn't be all that difficult," Tentomon buzzed. "Usually the Tag that belongs to the Crest's bearer starts to glow, or something to that effect."  
  
"You mean like this?" Buck replied dumbly, pulling his Tag from underneath his shirt. The dog tag hanging from the chain had started to glow a dull silver.  
  
"Yeah, something like that," Tentomon added hurriedly, a sweatdrop sliding down his face.  
  
"I'm assuming you knew this beforehand, Tentomon?" Kyuubimon growled sarcastically. He turned his head towards the far side of the valley, where the glistening of water could be seen in the distance - along with a translucent emblem that had risen from the ground..  
  
"The Crest?" Buck breathed, holding the Tag before him. "Is that it?"  
  
Almost as if it had responded to his words, the emblem floated towards Buck, shrinking until it would fit in the confines of the dog tag. A blinding light tore the men and digimon's eyes as it met with the Tag..  
  
Buck blinked the stars out of his eyes and looked down. The dog tag was still in his hand, but it felt slightly warm. He brought it to his face, meeting words written in Digital Hieroglyphs. Before he could even ask the digimon to translate, the characters seemed to rearrange themselves into English.  
  
"The Crest of Truth," Buck recited, tucking the tag back inside his shirt. He turned to face Parker, who was looking down at his D3. "Looks like you need to find yours now, Frank."  
  
"I'm not sure how they'll help us, though - especially with having our digimon evolve to higher levels," Parker muttered. "Besides, the next Holy Stone is straight that way some twenty miles. I suggest we ride there."  
  
"I agree," Buck replied, climbing onto Kyuubimon's back. "But just where exactly is the Stone this time?"  
  
Parker pocketed his D3 and gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, the D3 picked up the children and their digimon . but I think they're keeping a good distance from the Stone."  
  
"So that means.."  
  
Parker glared at the glistening water ahead. "It's underwater."  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Location - somewhere near the sixth Holy Stone  
  
-------------------------------------------------  
  
"Patamon evolve! Angemon!!"  
  
The majestic angel stood by Takeru, towering nearly three feet above the boy's head. In his hands was the shining golden quarterstaff he always held, yet something was strange about the position he held it.  
  
"Takeru, are you sure you did the right thing?" Daisuke asked, for once not sounding sarcastic.  
  
"He looks a little green to me," Submarimon said as he backed into the water, Iori in the cockpit.  
  
Amidst radio static came Iori's voice, amplified through speakers somewhere on Submarimon's body. "He's leaning on his staff," came the quizzical response. "Is he like this usually, Takeru?"  
  
Hastily the boy shook his head. "No . he's not."  
  
"Then you shouldn't let him fight," Hikari stated firmly. "He needs a rest."  
  
"I agree," came Ken's voice; the others immediately supported his opinion.  
  
"No."  
  
The children, puzzled, turned to face the source of the voice. It sounded as though it had come from Takeru's direction.  
  
"No . I have to fight.."  
  
Takeru lifted his head towards Angemon's shielded eyes, barely catching the angel's muttering. The digimon kept on repeating those same words - I have to fight him..  
  
"Why?!" Takeru yelled at last, backing away from his partner. "Why do you have to fight? You're weak! Stop insisting that you have to!"  
  
Silence followed in the wake of Takeru's outburst. Angemon had stopped moving his lips, but he was visibly placing more of his weight on his staff. His wings dropped uselessly from his back, molting like a young bird's.  
  
"I'm the only one . that can destroy him," came the reply at last.  
  
The children gasped in disbelief. How could a digimon as haggard as he destroy Black War Greymon?  
  
"I know . I black out . when I fight pure darkness," he continued, his voice raspy. "I . don't recall fighting Devimon . all those years ago, Takeru. Nor most of those battles against Dagomon . or Black War Greymon.." He pensively turned to Takeru, lifting the boy's head upward gingerly with a finger. "Takeru . tell me more . what happens when I blank out.?"  
  
Takeru broke into a cold sweat, felt the drops of frigid water cascade down his cheeks onto the angel's hand. How could I tell him . if I can't even say the truth?  
  
"Foolish Guardian . what's the good of asking him if you already know?"  
  
Takeru could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Sweat stung his skin, forcing him away from Angemon. Something had spoken . that dark, mocking voice..  
  
Black War Greymon.  
  
The dark dragon hovered above the water, just feet away from Submarimon. A snicker could barely be seen from behind his heavy armor plating.  
  
"Well, well," he continued, peeling his steel eyes away from Angemon. "If it isn't those pesky kids." He snorted in disgust. "And this time you don't have those stupid Americans to help you . nor the Guardian." Again he took a side glance at the weak angel. "I'll finish off this stone as easily as the rest."  
  
"I don't think so!" four voices in unison called from above.  
  
"Desperado Blaster!"  
  
"Dual Sonic!"  
  
Paildramon and Silphymon, flying unseen above the children, fired their special attacks at Black War Greymon. The flashes of light only bounced off the dragon's armor before he jumped out of range, further out into the ocean.  
  
"You can't get me here, now," he snickered.  
  
"Harpoon Vulcan!"  
  
Twenty horn-like structures shot their way out of the water from behind Black War Greymon, releasing the warheads hidden inside. A few of them managed to strike the dragon's back, eliciting a cry of obvious pain before he splashed into the water.  
  
"Thanks, Ikkakumon!" Hikari called out rather randomly.  
  
Black War Greymon stuck his head out of the water, brine sputtering from his hidden mouth. He whispered a few obscenities in Japanese and English before attempting to surface completely.  
  
He didn't see the blue light dashing towards him.  
  
"Mega Blaster!"  
  
"Demon Fireball!"  
  
The combined attacks struck him square in the face, forcing him underwater again. Vibrations from the surface told him that two digimon were traveling above . those two American Chosen Children..  
  
Buck and Parker, mounted on their partners Kyuubimon and Kabuterimon, set foot only a few feet away from the Japanese children. They jumped off their partners' backs and ran towards the children.  
  
"Are we too late?" Buck asked, Kyuubimon trailing after him.  
  
"It doesn't look like it," Parker sighed. "No Guardian - just the children, Paildramon, Silphymon, that submarine thing, and -"  
  
He took a glance in Takeru's direction and saw Angemon standing feebly behind him.  
  
"Maybe we are a little late," he muttered halfheartedly.  
  
"Besides, we can't talk to them unless the Guardian's around," Buck sighed.  
  
"Thanks for reminding me," Parker scoffed.  
  
Black War Greymon emerged from the water again, this time completely. He hovered over the water towards the children, pausing again before Takeru and Angemon.  
  
"Pitiful you all are . really," he mocked, advancing towards the pair. His feet splashed in the shallow water, bringing dark smoke over the ocean. "Even you, Guardian . I wanted to destroy those Stones so I could fight you-"  
  
He pushed Takeru from the angel's side with a violent swipe of his claw. The boy bowled over into Hikari, bleeding slightly across his chest.  
  
"-But I find that you're just as miserable as the rest of the lot."  
  
The dragon brought his other claw in a wide arc, aimed to cleave the angel. It started to glow with a dull light..  
  
"Dramon Kill-"  
  
"HOLY ROD!"  
  
Angemon brought his staff in the claw's path, halting Black War Greymon's light-shielded claws mere inches from his body. With a thrust of his arms he forced the dragon into the water again. Black War Greymon regained his bearings immediately, though, and now he was standing waist- deep in the water.  
  
"You still think that's going to stop me?" the dragon crooned, casting a disdainful eye at Angemon.  
  
The angel turned his head slowly away from Black War Greymon, leaning on his staff once more. He seemed to gaze at Takeru, held barely conscious in Hikari's arms, with that strange longing that bound him to his partner.  
  
"Takeru . are you all right?" he gasped, easing himself down to the boy's side. "I can help.."  
  
He laid a hand over Takeru's wound and gave a slight smile. His body started to glow with a golden aura, similar to the one that had engulfed him in the Center..  
  
"Great - we're screwed now," Parker grumbled as the angel's light stung his eyes. He threw an arm over his face, knowing it probably wouldn't be much help.  
  
"No, Francis . it is not over yet."  
  
Parker turned at the sound - it seemed to have come from where Buck was. He turned to face the journalist, believing that what he heard was just imagined. Time traveling had that effect on him sometimes, though rarely more than seven days after backstepping.  
  
"Buck . what's going on?"  
  
The journalist was standing at a limp military attention, his hair and clothes billowing in a non-existent wind. Parker lowered his arm, and noticed that the Crest tucked under Buck's shirt had started to glow.  
  
"I am not . Cameron Williams," Buck whispered, his voice sounding vaguely different. Parker could almost recognize it..  
  
"Then who are you?" Parker ventured, moving a step closer to the man. He had never heard Buck call himself by his full name - in fact, Parker hadn't even told Buck his full name, either . except for when the Guardian had spoken to him..  
  
Buck opened his mouth again. "I am.."  
  
".. Watakushi wa Guardian.."  
  
"Hey, you guys hear that?" Daisuke called out as the aura about Angemon started to fade away.  
  
"It sounded like one of those American guys," Miyako gasped; she saw Ken nod in agreement. "I just didn't know that they spoke Japanese."  
  
"Actually, introducing yourself is a rather simple," Ken noted, turning towards the Americans and their digimon. "I wouldn't be surprised if they learned how to say that in a day."  
  
"Are they genius kids like you?" Daisuke scoffed. "Besides, how could one of them be that Guardian we saw yesterday?"  
  
The children gasped rather predictably.  
  
"That's what one of them said," Daisuke added. "'I am the Guardian.'"  
  
"The Guardian?!" Parker cried out, a vein bulging at his temple. "You've gotta be kidding me! You can't be a digimon!"  
  
"The Guardian is not a digimon," Buck scolded, his voice even. "Neither is he human."  
  
"Then what is he?"  
  
"The Guardian is merely a spirit." Buck turned to face Parker; the chrononaut could now see that the journalist's eyes had an ivory glow to them, boring into his soul. "The Supreme Deity, sixteen years ago, had bound him to three: the partners of the bearers of the Crests of Spirit and Hope, and the bearer of the Crest of Truth."  
  
Parker looked down at Buck's dog tag, and saw the emblem of the Crest of Truth glowing brighter. "Then where's Buck?"  
  
"Cameron's spirit is in the Center," Buck lowed reverently. "He will not remember what has and what will happen here."  
  
"So that's why . Angemon doesn't remember.." Takeru mumbled drunkenly in the angel's fading aura. "He's . taken over.."  
  
"Just as he was in the Center," Hikari mused, bringing her arms around Takeru's shoulders. "And he healed you like this, too.."  
  
Takeru chuckled, and placed a hand over Angemon's. He could feel the wound knitting itself beneath the angel's touch, could feel the pain numbing away. How could Hikari compare this to how he was treated at the Center? The Guardian had handled him roughly, and the healing had felt so hurried..  
  
"It's finished," Angemon slurred presently, removing his hand from Takeru's chest. "Are you alright . now.?"  
  
Takeru nodded. "I am." He looked up at Hikari before turning his eyes to his partner again. "Angemon . did you hear what the Americans said, just a moment ago?"  
  
The angel shook his head. "No . I wasn't . paying attention.."  
  
Exhausted at last, he fell unconscious, his shielded head atop Takeru's heart.  
  
"Why did you have to take over Buck?!" Parker yelled, placing his hands on Buck's shoulders. "You could've taken Angemon, just as you have these past few times! What did the Supreme Deity find in Buck that made him the perfect host?"  
  
"The digimon you speak of is directly connected to the Holy Stones I protect," Buck replied calmly. "Only two Stones remain - he does not have the strength I need. Cameron, on the other hand, is human. Humans do not have the ability to tie themselves to such artifacts.  
  
"Look over there, Francis Parker," he continued, pointing a finger at the Japanese children. "What do you see?"  
  
Parker shrugged. "I see Black War Greymon hovering over the water - he looks like he's waiting for something.. And I see the children staring at us - oh, and there's that one girl, Hikari . it looks like she's holding Takeru . and - is that Angemon?" he asked at last, pointing at the angel sprawled over Takeru.  
  
"Now you know why I take Cameron Williams as my host," Buck replied. "Angemon is weak . Cameron is not."  
  
"Hah," Black War Greymon snickered at last, his eyes still on the unconscious angel. "Just as I expected . the Guardian falls from protecting his partner - instead of those Stones." He raised his arms above his head, and a giant fireball formed between his hands.  
  
"And now I shall finish you off at last!"  
  
"No . he's going to kill the kids!" Parker yelled, turning to face Buck. This time though, the journalist seemed to have regained himself.  
  
"Frank . what happened?" he asked blankly.  
  
"You were possessed!" Parker exclaimed in disgust. "That dumb Crest . it's all because of it.."  
  
"I don't get it, Frank. How could it - AAAAHHHHH!"  
  
"Buck!" Parker and the digimon cried.  
  
"What . what's happening . to me.?" Buck managed between his screams. The Crest of Truth was shining again, brighter even than when the Guardian had taken his body. Light swallowed Buck, concealing the terror that had stricken him.  
  
"What's going on?" Kyuubimon gasped, backing away from his partner.  
  
"A Crest shouldn't be able to do this to its bearer!" Kabuterimon exclaimed in shock.  
  
"We shouldn't have tried to find that dumb Crest," Parker scolded himself. "We didn't know it would do this to him.."  
  
Buck's screams continued, and all Parker and the digimon could do was stare. The light around him seemed to grow in height, towering a few feet above Parker's head. With a wrench of pain, a pair of ivory wings extended from Buck's back, nearly knocking Kyuubimon over.  
  
And then the light died down.  
  
Buck wasn't there anymore.  
  
All that was left . was the Guardian.  
  
Black War Greymon turned his head towards the Americans, the fireball still floating between his hands. "How can this be?" he exclaimed, shocked. "You . you can't be the Guardian! He . he's over there, by those other children.."  
  
"The angel is too weak," the Guardian whispered, his voice heard by all. "I needed another."  
  
"Hmph, so you say," the dragon crooned. "I'll still destroy you! Gaia Force!"  
  
The fireball flew towards the Guardian, driving a trench through the soft sands of the lakeside. The Guardian, in haste, plucked a long flight feather from one of his wings. When the orb was in range, he brought the feather down, cleaving the fireball in two.  
  
"I will not let you stop me this time," bringing the feather before his face - it had now become a sword of gleaming silver. "The last two Stones will not be destroyed!"  
  
"Are you sure, Guardian?" Black War Greymon mocked. He turned his back to the children with a snicker. "Waters, behold my mighty hands!"  
  
With those words, the water before Black War Greymon pulled away from him, just like the Red Sea had in Moses' day. A clear passage across the ocean floor, surrounded by the sea, had opened up, pulling the aquatic digimon away from the Holy Stone that lay in the middle of the dry space.  
  
"So that's where it is," the dragon mused. "Gaia Force!"  
  
Another fireball formed between Black War Greymon's hands, aimed for the undefended Stone. With a grunt of exertion he tossed the orb, watching it speed for the rock with glee.  
  
"Heaven's Gate!"  
  
A spot of sparkling violet light formed before the Holy Stone, swallowing the fireball before it hit. The hole closed moments later, revealing the one who had created it.  
  
The Guardian stood there, sword in his hands. The beginnings of a smile played on his lips.  
  
"You!?" Black War Greymon yelled out, frustrated. "But . you were on the shore! How.."  
  
"The means does not matter to you," the Guardian bellowed. "I will not let you get near."  
  
"We shall see about that!" the dragon roared. His body started to spin like a screw as he flew towards the Stone. The claws he held before him shone with a silver glow. "Dramon Killer!"  
  
The Guardian folded his wings before him, and his body glowed a blinding ivory. "Shield of Light!"  
  
The light surrounding the angel began to solidify into a transparent golden shield, marked only by a silver cross. He raised the shield before the advancing dragon and brought the sword down in a gleaming arc above his head.  
  
"Excalibur!"  
  
It was too late.  
  
Black War Greymon barged against the shield, the force of his attack and his weight causing the Guardian to crash into the Holy Stone. The dragon flew out of the canyon then, the sound of his evil laughter barely drowned out by Buck's screams.  
  
"Buck!" Parker called out, running towards the water's edge. He could see the walls lining the ocean-floor path starting to fill in the dry space.  
  
"Kyuubimon," he said, turning to the digimon behind him, "can you get to him?"  
  
The fox shook his head. "I can't," he said regretfully. "The water is moving too fast."  
  
"But he's going to drown!" Parker cried. "Somebody has to get him!"  
  
Through the corner of his eye, Parker could see the submarine-like digimon he had spotted earlier slide into the water. It was a terribly quick creature, but it was still only a few feet behind the waves - and nowhere near the Guardian.  
  
Soon the water had reclaimed the land, shrouding the ruins of the Holy Stone and the Guardian beneath gentle waves.  
  
"Oh no," Parker breathed. "There's no way Buck can get out of this."  
  
With those words, the submarine creature stuck his head out of the water, a solemn expression in his eyes and those of his passenger. Draped across the submarine's nose was a limp figure - Buck.  
  
"Don't worry - he'll be fine," the submarine said in perfect English. "Just needs a little rest, that's all."  
  
Parker walked up to the submarine and pulled Buck off. The journalist blinked slowly as Parker helped him to his feet.  
  
"Frank . why am I soaking wet?" he asked, pulling his drenched hair out of his face. "Did I miss something?"  
  
"Black War Greymon destroyed the Holy Stone," Parker replied, supporting Buck's back with an arm. "You put up a good fight."  
  
Buck turned to look at Parker blankly. "Me? Fight? You've got to be kidding! I have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
Parker sighed. "Oh well. It's a long story. Let's get home now."  
  
"For once I thought that we were going to win!" Daisuke exclaimed angrily, throwing off his goggles and tossing them into the ground. "Why does this always happen?"  
  
"Maybe . Black War Greymon's too strong," Takeru said, trying to get out from beneath Angemon.  
  
"We should just give up," Miyako sobbed, hiding her face behind her hands. "These last few battles have been like this - that Guardian couldn't even hold him off!"  
  
"Buck seemed to do a good job, though," Ken mused. "Maybe . if he became the Guardian again, he could hold off Black War Greymon and even defeat him!"  
  
"Just one problem with that, Ken," Daisuke said, picking up his goggles. "There's only one Holy Stone left. We have no chances left after this one's destroyed. And what if Buck doesn't come? If Angemon becomes the Guardian again, we'll lose for sure!"  
  
"Maybe we should find the bearer of the Crest of Spirit," Hikari suggested. "The Guardian mentioned him a while ago. If we can find him, then the Guardian could overtake his partner and defeat Black War Greymon."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea," Daisuke said. "Now come on - we need to get home, or else we'll be late for dinner!"  
  
With a grumble of consent, the children and their digimon followed the Americans towards an exit from the Digital World. As they left, the skies above turned a darker shade of gray, and the occasional raindrop fell upon the land.  
  
Takeru strayed behind, though, waiting for Angemon to awake or revert. It was a few minutes before the boy could feel the angel's head arise from his chest.  
  
"Takeru . what happened?" he moaned, glowing with a golden light. His form shrank into that of Patamon. "Black War Greymon . where is he.?"  
  
"He's gone, Patamon," Takeru sighed, taking his partner in his arms. "He destroyed the Holy Stone."  
  
Patamon only moaned in reply.  
  
"We have to catch up with the others," Takeru continued. "Let's go."  
  
And as Takeru stood up and walked away from the water, the rain poured down in heavy sheets.  
  
{"Itsudemo Aeru Kara", credits, and ending animation plays.."}  
  
A/N: Guess what? The next part is the long awaited Backstep 09: Angel's Trumpet Sounding! This part will decide once and for all what the fate of our characters will be! Will the Chosen Children protect the final Holy Stone? Or will the predestined Digital Conundrum come to pass? You'll just have to find out on the next episode of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM! 


	11. Angel's Trumpet Sounding

[Tupperware and MacDonald's are trademarks of themselves. Copy/paste other disclaimers here….] 

Backstep 09   
Angel's Trumpet Sounding 

[The long awaited segment has a commemorative start and end theme! Go to www.leftbehind-themovie.com to hear them! Just make sure to stop at the end of the first chorus of Left Behind and at the end of the first verse of Midnight Cry….] 

{Left Behind and new starting animation plays….} 

_Sumanai Takeru ... yakusoku wo yabutteshimatte....   
Forgive me, Takeru … I broke my promise…._   
Angemon, from Angemon Kakusei! (Angemon Awakening!)

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Frank Parker's quarters, NNL   
Time - two days since projected Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

"Oh, geez, Frank," Buck groaned as he woke up the next morning, attempting to rise from a padded recliner near Parker's bed. There was a few more gauze bandages stripped to his body than there was the day before. "I don't know how the heck I hurt myself, but I sure can't get up - out of - this dumb - chair!"   
Frank Parker strode out of the restroom, dressed only in a beige towel. A disposable razor was in his hands. "I see you've finally woke up," he mused. "You've been out ever since Olga stitched you up again last night."   
"I sure remember that," the journalist grumbled, gingerly touching his forehead with a bandaged hand. There was another piece of gauze taped to his forehead, not to mention a few more on his cheeks. "At this rate I'll be my own plastic surgeon."   
"I wonder what you'd look like with all those bandages off, anyway," Parker laughed, walking back into the restroom. Buck could see the chrononaut lathering shaving foam over his stubby beard.   
"I'd hate to see that," Buck moaned. "Nobody would expect me to get a total facelift after I get out of here. I mean, I survived the assault on Israel without even getting a single scratch! But one day in the Digital World - one day, and I almost get myself in a body cast!"   
"Hey, it's not your fault that you have the Crest of Truth," Parker said, sliding the razor across his foam-covered face. "Besides, if you're lucky, you won't be possessed by that Guardian anymore."   
"Possessed?" Buck scoffed. "That's exactly what you said before I blanked out the second time yesterday. How could I be possessed?"   
"You said so yourself," Parker sighed. "You and two others could be possessed by the Guardian: Angemon, you, and the bearer of the Crest of Spirit's partner."   
"Hmph. I don't recall saying that."   
"That's cause you said it while the Guardian had control of your body!"   
"So? It doesn't mean that I said it."   
"Well, Owsley might have some info," Parker sighed, dropping his razor into a trash bin. "I'll go see him later today - want to come?"   
"Maybe - Olga is going to take out the stitches in a few hours." He slowly let his eyes roam the room. "Where's the digimon?"   
"I hid them in the walk-in closet - that's the door next to the books on historical bad guys."   
"Right."   
Buck, his eyelids heavy again, let them fall over his eyes. He needed the rest: his body ached terribly, especially his back and chest. It felt as if something had run through him, maybe a sword or a gigantic drill. _Maybe Parker's right_, he thought before he fell asleep; _maybe the Guardian did possess me for a while. But what happened … why do I hurt so much…? _

Buck opened his eyes upon the steel-gray ocean that the sixth Holy Stone had been hidden in. He glanced around, finding the Japanese Chosen Children staring at him on the shore and a dark dragon floating above the water, a fireball aimed for him….   
"Gaia Force…!"   
By instinct, Buck pulled a feather from one of his wings ("I don't have wings!" his mind screamed in alarm) and swept it downward before him. The fireball was cleaved in half, dissipating into the sky, harmless.   
It was then that he took a look at himself. There were white gloves on his hands, exposing the joints of slender, feminine fingers. Robes covered his body, all in shades of ivory. He could feel that his hair was much longer in back - it kept blowing in front of his face. Glancing below, Buck could see that Frank Parker's head was even with his armpits.   
That can't be, Buck told himself; I'm only an inch taller than Frank!   
There wasn't much more to look at now, other than the feather in his hands. Something was strange about it, though - the shaft had a padded, contoured grip, and it felt weighted. Only a further glance upward revealed the truth: it was now a sword, its blade engraved with Digital Hieroglyphs.   
Buck looked at the symbols, watching them rearrange themselves into English. "Omega Blade," it said - it probably was the name of the sword.   
Something in the sword's reflection caught Buck's eye. It was the glint of the sun on metal. He knew it couldn't be from the sword - it was at the wrong angle. Taking his attention away from the Digital Hieroglyphs, Buck glared at the reflection-   
"This can't be…."   
The sword dropped from Buck's hand.   
The man he saw in the reflection … was the Guardian.   
And in a flash of dark light, Buck could feel Black War Greymon barging into his chest, flinging him straight through the Holy Stone. The Guardian was losing his hold on Buck, couldn't keep the man in such unnatural a form - the wings on his back started to dissolve with such agony as water cascaded over him…. 

"NOOOOOOO!"   
"Hey, Mr. Williams, calm down! I just removed the last of the stitches!"   
Buck opened his eyes, only to find Olga's face beaming down at him. A pair of forceps holding a bloodied gauze was in her gloved hands.   
"Oh, it's just you," Buck sighed. "Where am I?"   
"The sick bay," Olga replied simply, dumping the bandage in a biohazard waste bin. "Mr. Parker brought you here half an hour ago. It wouldn't have taken me thirty minutes to remove these bandages, if it wasn't for you breaking out in cold sweats."   
"Right." Buck sat himself up on the cot he was lying on, wincing at the pain that shot through his back. "You have anything for back pain, Olga?"   
"Mr. Parker has aspirin in plenty in his quarters, Mr. Williams," Olga said, walking back towards Buck. "And I won't remove the stitches in your back until later this week. You had some deep scratches back there - though I'm quite surprised that your clothes came out unscathed."   
"Thanks for telling me," Buck said, jumping off the cot. "Frank's been insisting that I've been possessed, and that's why I got hurt."   
"I know - he told me. Mr. Parker has a way of making the strangest excuses - for all I know, you might've been stripped and beaten. Your scratches were rather random."   
"Hmm. Maybe so - but I don't recall getting hurt at all."   
"Well, you may be like Mr. Parker, then," Olga sighed. "You might have such a high threshold for pain that you might not even recall your getting injured. Good day, Mr. Williams."   
And with that she went on with cleaning the sick bay, ignoring Buck's presence. 

Minutes later, Buck returned to Parker's quarters, only to find the chrononaut - now dressed in a granite-gray jumpsuit - sitting on his bed reading a book by a historical bad guy. The digimon were sitting by Parker's feet.   
"I'm assuming that's what you mean by books on historical bad guys," Buck scoffed, making his way to the side of Parker's bed. "Do even find those books interesting in the least?"   
Parker threw down the book, not caring to mark his place, and looked over at Buck. "Well, Lenin isn't all that interesting. Besides, I've read that book maybe three times this year alone."   
"Then why read it again?"   
Parker shrugged. "No reason. Which reminds me…."   
He jumped off his bed and strode over to his computer. After moving his mouse and clicking a button a few times, he called Buck over.   
"Owsley's been keeping tabs on all we've been doing in the Digital World - he's taken the liberty to download everything the D3's been recording. You should see a few of these videos."   
"Sure," Buck grumbled. He saw Parker move the mouse over an icon and click it.   
Another window showed up on the screen, titled "D-Prime: Takeru 1999". It was a short video, just showing a lot of white light. Owsley had somehow managed, though, to translate everything that was spoken - mostly weeping.   
Moments later, the white light faded away, showing a plain surrounded by far-off mountains. Everything was drenched in crimson, even the sky and the sun. A single, leafless tree was the only sign of light, other than-   
"The Guardian," Buck whispered, pointing at a white figure on the screen. "What's he doing here?"   
No more had he said those words when a shimmering anomaly formed before the angel, sucking in a monster bathed in darkness. One of those monster's claws sank into the Guardian's body, causing the screen to blank out.   
"And that's the end of that one," Parker sighed, closing the window. "Now here's another one from that same moment, but from another point of view." This time he clicked on a different icon, and a window titled "D-Prime: Yamato 1999" appeared.   
Again, it was a screen filled with white light, with the Japanese speech translated into English - but this time, no blood-stained plain. It was much shorter, ending almost five minutes later in darkness.   
"What are you getting at, Frank?" Buck sighed as Parker closed the window. "What's this got to do with anything?"   
"What is shows," Frank started condescendingly, "is that Takeru was the only person that saw what had happened - the battlefield, the Guardian, everything. Owsley's checked all the other children's D-Primes - or D3, in Takeru's case - and all the others came up with what's on Yamato's.   
"Buck, Takeru - when we first met him - he looked … well, worried … when we were carrying the Guardian. As if something really bad happened to him in the past. I think this video shows."   
"Oh," Buck said rather blankly.   
"At least we now know … why he's so protective," Parker continued. "Now here's the last one, from yesterday. It's taken from my D3."   
Buck's eyes widened in shock as he saw the video play out on the computer monitor. It was mostly gray, except for a patch of brightness that he could see as … himself. The other Buck's face was staring back at him with blanked-out eyes, his mouth flopping with words he knew he couldn't have said.   
The light then died out, and Buck could see that he had somewhat regained himself.   
_Frank, what happened?   
"You were _possessed_! That dumb Crest … it's all because of it….   
I don't get it - how could I be-_   
A piercing scream nearly blew out the computer's speakers, making the men and even the digimon on the bed cover their ears. Buck stared at the screen, seeing his double swallowed by light, wings shooting out of his back, robes forming where causal khakis had once been….   
"Stop the video, Frank," Buck whispered at last, closing his eyes. "I don't want to see any more." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - an abandoned apartment building, downtown Los Angeles, California, USA   
-------------------------------------------------   
Delores and Nicolae were sitting in front of their computer again, minus their customary bowls of instant ramen. This time they were just staring at a little scene of a deserted Chinatown-like area. Dried tumbleweeds were blowing through the lighted streets, passing signs decorated in Digital Hieroglyphs.   
"Are you sure that the last Holy Stone is somewhere in the Digital World Chinatown?" Nicolae ventured, turning to face Delores. "You know I am missing a very important meeting at the United Nations for this."   
"Of course!" Delores snapped, not hesitating to smack Nicolae in the cheek with a purple glove. "Why do you think Black War Greymon's rampaging there?"   
"Maybe because he wants some ramen," Nicolae moaned, rubbing a red spot on his cheek. "See? There is a ramen restaurant over there." He pointed at a small shop on the screen.   
Delores edged closer to the monitor to read the sign above the shop. "Get your fat finger out of the way!" she hissed, shoving Nicolae to the side. "'Digital na Tamago Ramen-ya' … I've heard of this place. They claim to have the best ramen in the Digital World…."   
"So … would you like to have lunch over there?" Nicolae mumbled.   
"Actually … that doesn't sound like a bad idea," Delores mused, pulling up Nicolae with an unknown kindness. She pushed a gloved finger to the computer screen, watching the monitor ripple like water beneath her touch. "Digital Gate … open!" 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Chinatown, Digital World   
------------------------------------------------- 

"Mmm … what's that delicious smell?"   
Daisuke and the Japanese Chosen Children were standing by an ornate red-painted gate somewhere in the Digital World. Their digimon sat hungrily at the heels of their partners - V-mon had saliva drooling from his mouth in foaming drops. Beyond the gate, barely seen from where they were standing, was the glitter of the town beyond - a Chinatown, from the looks of it.   
"It smells like ramen, Daisuke!" V-mon sighed dreamily.   
"Ramen?" Miyako scoffed. "Who'd sell ramen out here?"   
"Beats me," Daisuke murmured, "but I'm going to get some!" 

Inside the deserted Chinatown district, Parker, Buck, and their digimon emerged from a television with a flashy entrance. The men were surprised to find themselves in the same clothes they had worn for the past few days - especially since they knew they were wearing something different back at NNL. Upon arriving, they, too, noticed a tantalizing aroma.   
"What's that?" Buck queried, sniffing the air.   
"I don't know," Parker snapped.   
"It's ramen," Tentomon informed in a matter-of-fact voice. "And it's coming from that shop over there."   
Buck brought his hands over his stomach. "Well, I am feeling a little hungry," he muttered, making himself heard. "A small bite isn't all that much, is it?"   
"Doubt it," Parker said. "Come on."   
Minutes later the men and their digimon found themselves in front of a small restaurant marked with a flashy sign covered with Digital Hieroglyphs - no English translation provided. A Humvee painted in a hideous yellow was parked by the entrance, and the men could tell that it was a British model - the steering wheel was on the wrong side.   
"Who'd want to paint a car in that color?" Elecmon grumbled, jumping onto Buck's shoulder, not seeming to notice his partner wincing under the weight. "Looks downright ugly to me."   
"It's a British car, what'd you-"   
He was interrupted by Parker tapping on his shoulder. "Look there," was all the chrononaut said as he pointed into the distance.   
Six familiar children were running towards them, with digimon partners running - or flying - beside them.   
The Japanese children.   
"They're here, too?" Buck gasped. "What, is this some brunch you prepared while I was having my stitches pulled? I can't believe you!"   
"Hey, I'd only go though a lot of trouble to prepare a buffet if it were for Olga," Parker laughed. "Now you … you deserve something impromptu."   
"Yeah, sure."   
The children halted just feet away from the Humvee, and were now starting to chatter in Japanese. After a few minutes they and their digimon walked into the establishment, looks of satisfaction on their faces. One of the digimon - the blue creature named V-mon - turned back towards Parker and Buck and waved a beckoning hand.   
"Daisuke and the rest want to have lunch with you!" he said in perfect English. "And the food's on him!"   
  
"Thanks," Parker smiled, gruffly taking Buck's arm. "Now come on - we need something to eat." "You too?" Buck gasped as he was pulled into the restaurant.   
"Can't turn down an invitation," Parker said. 

Daisuke and the children had barely set foot in the restaurant when they stopped cold in their tracks.   
"Quiet down, all of you!" he scolded, turning to face the other children and the Americans. Knowing that the grown men didn't know Japanese, he brought a finger to his lips. The men seemed to have caught on.   
"What's going on?" Hikari asked, scooting closer to Daisuke, Tailmon in her arms. "You hear something?"   
"Well, duh," Daisuke scoffed. "Look over there." He pointed a finger towards the only occupied table in the restaurant.   
Gradually the other children made their way as silently as they could to take a closer look. The Americans barely moved a step closer, but then, they were taller than the children by a few feet. They were having a heated, whispered conversation, though. 

"Frank … isn't that Delores and Nicolae?" Buck gasped, pointing towards the table. 

"Hey … isn't that Archnemon and Mummymon?" Ken whispered, nudging Daisuke with an elbow. 

"It must be," Parker breathed, reaching inside his jacket for his gun. "Who on earth would wear such an ugly purple hat, anyway?"   
"Besides, Nicolae's power tie is recognizable no matter what world he's in - maybe even the Dark Ocean," Buck laughed. "How many of those does he have, anyway?"   
"More than enough, I suppose - just like Delores probably has a thousand identical red dresses. How many ramen spills has she had in the past seven days?" 

"What's Archnemon doing here?" Takeru asked, peering over Daisuke's shoulder. Patamon was sleeping in his arms.   
"What do you think?" Daisuke retorted. "She's eating ramen with Mummymon."   
Right at that moment, Archnemon stood up from her chair and set down her chopsticks by a steaming bowl of ramen. She said something to Mummymon before walking off to the kitchens. It was a scant few minutes later before she came storming back to her table, a small egg on legs toddling behind.   
"What do you mean, you won't give me the recipe?" she roared, settling herself back in her chair and scooting herself in furiously. With a thud she clashed into the table, spilling ramen over her dress for maybe the hundredth time.   
"Now look what you made me do, Digitamamon! You made me spill ramen all over my dress!" A low grumble burst from her mouth.   
"Now, now, ma'am," the walking egg said soothingly; "the recipe is a S-E-C-R-E-T! I can't just give it away to customers! Speaking of customers" - he turned to the doorway where the children stood - "there's some right now!"   
"Customers?" Archnemon crooned. "Let me see…."   
She stood up from her chair and faced the children. The slightest twitch of her eyes could be seen from behind her purple-tinted glasses.   
"Pesky children," she muttered in Japanese. Then, in English, "And what're you doing here, Frankie and Buck?" 

"Damn - she saw us!" Parker cursed under his breath. "What now?"   
Delores glared at the Americans with a smirk playing on her purple lips. "Do you know how many times you've made me spill my ramen?" she screeched, veins bulging at her temples.   
"Delores, you should not blame Frank Parker and Cameron Williams for this," Nicolae started, but he was silenced by Delores' fist flying into his stomach.   
"This is the fifth dress I have to send to the dry cleaners, thanks to you!" Delores continued, her body glowing with a silver light. Appendages seemed to grow out of her torso, and her belly grew rounder.   
When the light vanished, an entirely different creature had taken Delores' place.   
"What the heck?" Buck whispered, standing closer to Parker.   
The Japanese children, for the first time without the Guardian in presence, muttered something that Parker and Buck could understand.   
"Archnemon."   
"So that's Delores' digimon form," Parker breathed.   
Archnemon turned her silver eyes towards the entryway, focusing on the Japanese children. "The Guardian amongst you is weak," she crooned, throwing back her arms. "Spider Thread!"   
Silver ropes shot out of Archnemon's fingers, all reaching out towards Takeru. The boy dodged at the last minute and backed into Parker. He muttered something in Japanese - an apology, probably - before he walked back to the other children.   
"We should drive this pest out," Buck growled, reaching for his D3. He pointed it at Elecmon and cried, "Digimental Up!"   
"Elecmon, armor evolve! Mysterious truth, Kyuubimon!"   
The giant fox jumped before the Chosen Children and spread out his nine tails. Balls of snickering blue flames formed around his tails, making the rest of the room seem as dark as a deep cave.   
"Demon Fireball!"   
The nine fireballs shot out towards Archnemon, ramming into her belly. The digimon flew through the far wall of the restaurant, crashing into Mummymon and a few tables. Moments later dust settled, just in time to see the ripple of water by the nearby harbor.   
"Good job, Kyuubimon," Buck smiled, watching Kyuubimon revert back to Elecmon. Then, to Parker, "So, Frank, what're we going to do now?"   
"I guess we'll have something to eat now," Parker said. "Service!"   
The walking egg that was obviously the proprietor, though, was nowhere to be seen.   
"Service stinks at the Digital World," Buck scoffed. "I hope there's a MacDonald's nearby."   
The Japanese children were walking off again, this time to the kitchens where the walking egg had first appeared. They were muttering in Japanese again, but V-mon strayed behind to translate.   
"They're going to make ramen and rice balls!" V-mon exclaimed in English. "Want to help out?"   
Elecmon and Tentomon rushed out to follow the Japanese children. "Ramen - sounds yummy!" Tentomon drooled.   
"I hope they have grape soda," Elecmon croaked.   
Buck looked at Parker. "I think I'll find a decent seat," he said before he walked off. 

The children wasted no time finding their way around the kitchen. It was almost pure luck that Daisuke found a pan deep enough to cook enough ramen for the group in, but it was somewhat easier to find the ramen mix stowed in a high cupboard.   
Hawkmon handed down Tupperware containers filled with ramen base, which the children poured into the cooking pan. Tentomon and Elecmon, the partners of the Americans, had found rice balls in a walk-in refrigerator and were starting to microwave them.   
"They're working quite well, those American digimon," Daisuke laughed as he mixed spices into the ramen. "Hey, any of you find some noodles?"   
Takeru poked his head out of another cabinet. "I've got some," he called, waving a jumbo package labeled RAMEN NOODLES in Japanese. "How many do you need?"   
"Oh, I guess five," Daisuke replied. "Toss them here."   
Takeru gathered five packets of ramen noodles and threw them one by one to Daisuke. "There you go, Daisuke," he chimed as he threw the last one.   
"Thanks, Takeru," Daisuke said, dumping the noodles in.   
Takeru looked into the cabinet - he had let Patamon lie in there while the others were working. The digimon had been asleep for almost twenty-four hours now - he would've been thought as dead, but Takeru knew all too well what happened to a digimon when it died. Now, though, Patamon's eyes were starting to flutter open.   
"Takeru … how long has it been…?" the digimon whimpered, crawling slowly towards Takeru.   
"About a day," Takeru whispered, not wanting the others to hear. "You deserved the rest, after helping me yesterday. Thanks."   
Patamon smiled. "You know I'd do anything to protect you."   
"Yeah." But sometimes you take it too far, Takeru added silently. "You know, we're making ramen right now. Do you see any other packages of noodles in there?"   
Patamon slowly turned to look into the cabinet. "Nope."   
A sigh. "All right. Well, you could help Tentomon and Elecmon microwave some rice balls. Do you want to?"   
Patamon shook his head.   
"That's okay," Takeru said, resigning to the fact that Patamon was probably too tired to cook. "Well, you know, Patamon, you wouldn't be so tired if you were always evolving and turning into that Guardian."   
"Takeru, I don't evolve into any Guardian," Patamon argued weakly. "You know that."   
No, Patamon, you just don't remember, Takeru thought. "Still, you're tired because you evolve. How about this, Patamon: Promise me that you won't evolve, not until this Holy Stones business is over."   
Patamon shrugged. "Why?"   
"Look, Patamon, I promised three years ago that we would be friends forever. I'm offering this deal as a friend. Okay? I don't want you to get hurt."   
Patamon extended one of his paws. "All right."   
Takeru took his partner's paw in his hands and gripped it tightly. "It's a deal." And the next time we run into Black War Greymon, Takeru thought, at least I know that Buck could deal with him. 

Thirty minutes later, the children and the digimon barged out of the kitchen with bowls of steaming ramen and two platefuls of rice balls. After the food was served, the Japanese and American Chosen Children ate in silence - they knew it was fruitless to have a conversation with their minimal knowledge of each other's languages. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - somewhere away from the Chinatown district, Digital World   
------------------------------------------------- 

Delores and Nicolae sped off in their yellow Jeep, keeping as much distance from the Chinatown district as they could. Delores was nursing the singed portions of her dress, as well as the vivid ramen stain.   
"Blast those Chosen Children!" she muttered incessantly as the Jeep bounced through a thick bamboo forest. "Always getting my dresses ruined…."   
"You still have twenty other dresses in Los Angeles, Delores," Nicolae soothed, but was only given a hearty slap on the cheek.   
"I'm not going back to LA just to get another dress!" Delores screeched. "Now, according to the GPS, we're only three miles away from the last Holy Stone. I want to destroy this stone personally." She saw Nicolae look at her blankly. "That means step on it!"   
"Oh, yes, I am stepping on it right now," Nicolae stammered, slamming down the accelerator. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Digital Egg Ramen Restaurant, Chinatown District, Digital World   
------------------------------------------------- 

Frank Parker was about to go for his third bowl of ramen when his D3 started to beep annoyingly. Gently placing his bowl on the table, he took his D3 from his pocket and pressed a button. Owsley's face stared back at him.   
"Hey, Frank, I've got the location of the last Holy Stone," Owsley droned. His glasses were at a crooked angle. "How's Buck doing?"   
"Buck's doing fine, he's eating a lot of ramen," Parker replied. "So, where's this Holy Stone? Anywhere nearby?"   
Owsley nodded. "Secretary-General Carpathia and Delores are about a mile away from there. I've uploaded the coordinates to your D3. You know, if you want to save the world, you'd better get going right now."   
"Okay. I just hope that these Japanese kids understand that we have to leave! Parker out."   
Parker pocketed his D3 and tapped Buck's shoulder. "We're ditching," he whispered.   
"Why?" Buck stood up with a start, spilling his ramen - luckily he had draped a napkin over his lap. "This ramen is good!"   
"Owsley's found the last Holy Stone!" Parker whispered harshly. "And Nicolae and Delores are almost there!"   
"What about the other children?"   
"Have Elecmon tell them that we're going to the Holy Stone."   
Buck leaned over to Elecmon and whispered something in his ear. The digimon nodded, then said something in Japanese to the children. Without argument they stood from the table and filed out.   
"That wasn't so hard," Buck laughed. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - a pond of ramen   
------------------------------------------------- 

Delores jumped out of the Jeep and surveyed the area. It was a clearing in the bamboo forest, strangely circular shaped. A brown lake was at its center, a familiar smell issuing from it….   
"RAMEN!" Nicolae and Delores cried out at once. They ran over to the pond, being careful not to jump into it in their excitement. "I LOVE RAMEN!"   
Nicolae, though, pointed at something when he reached the edge of the pond. "Uh, Delores, there is a sign over there."   
"So?" Delores scoffed bitterly.   
"It says, 'If you drink from this pond, you will be sorry'."   
"Give me one good reason why," Delores threatened.   
"Well … because … it may be poisoned. You know, the ramen is in the ground."   
"Then why don't you try it out for yourself?" she replied, bitterly pushing Nicolae into the ramen lake.   
"Hey, Delores, you made me ruin my power tie!" Nicolae complained, still being careful not to use contractions in his rage.   
"Serves you right for messing up all my dresses."   
"I did not mess up any of your dresses!"   
"Do I care?"   
Nicolae didn't have time to give a sarcastic reply. The ramen around him started to bubble; the human-disguised digimon could feel rock rising beneath his feet. The rock shoved his body above the ramen, above the ground….   
"Oh my god," Delores mused.   
"What?" Nicolae cried. "I am on a rock in midair!"   
"That's not a normal rock! It's the last Holy Stone!"   
"Now what?"   
"Just jump off, you blockhead!"   
"Fine!" Nicolae flung himself from the Holy Stone and landed awkwardly by Delores' feet. His trademark suit was brown with ramen stains.   
"Delores, I hear a little rustling in the bushes over there," Nicolae said a little later, after squeezing dry his blood red power tie. "What do you think that is?"   
"Just your imagination," Delores scoffed.   
At that, three five digimon burst out of the bamboo before the Holy Stone: Paildramon, Silphymon, Ankylomon, Kabuterimon, and Kentarumon. The digimon all were in a position to fire their special attacks.   
"Blast! The Chosen Children found the Stone!" Delores screeched.   
"And we're not going to let you destroy it, not while we're around!" Paildramon exclaimed. "Desperado Blaster!"   
"Dual Sonic!"   
"Mega Blaster!"   
"Hunting Cannon!"   
Four of the digimon's special attacks flew out towards Delores and Nicolae, causing them to jump out of the way. Delores landed skillfully on her feet, while Nicolae rolled about in the grass. 

Behind the bamboo, a few feet away from the Chosen Children, Buck and Parker were watching the battle. They had a good view of the Holy Stone, Delores and Nicolae, and the evolved digimon.   
"I wonder why Takeru didn't make Patamon evolve," Buck mused, turning to look at Parker.   
"Because Takeru finally realized that we'd be screwed if Angemon appeared again," Parker replied curtly. "Besides, you put up a better fight."   
"Frank, I still have stitches that need to be removed," Buck sighed. "I don't want to be possessed again - it'll mean another session with Olga and her stitch-removing skills."   
"Gee, most people at NNL look forward to seeing Olga in the office," Parker mused.   
"Most people meaning you?" Buck laughed.   
Parker blushed deeply. "Besides, if nothing seems to work, we always have our guns."   
"Frank … I don't have a gun."   
"Well, at least I do," Frank said, pulling a gun out of his jacket. He pulled his coat from his body far enough to show a flash of white light shine through his shirt.   
"Frank … is that your Tag?" Buck asked, pointing to the light on Parker's chest.   
Parker pulled his dog tag from beneath his shirt. Sure enough, it was shining silver.   
"So my Crest has to be nearby," Parker breathed. 

A few feet away from Buck and Parker, the Japanese Chosen Children looked out at the battle. All of the children were voicing their encouragement to their digimon, but Takeru was sitting apart from the group, Patamon struggling in his arms.   
"Let me fight them, Takeru," he argued, fatigued. "I have to help out … come on…."   
"You promised me you wouldn't evolve, Patamon," Takeru scolded. "Stay back!"   
"I'm not going to evolve!" Patamon exclaimed, out of breath. "Just … going to stun them … a bit…."   
"You're going to get hurt," Takeru said, holding Patamon closer to him. "No." 

Delores and Nicolae stared down the five digimon protecting the Holy Stone. "No matter what you do, the Stone will still be destroyed," Delores crooned. "Make it easy on yourselves and step out of the way."   
"There's no way we're going to!" Silphymon exclaimed.   
"Tisk, tisk, little chickadees," Delores said. "Nicolae?"   
Nicolae finally stood up and pulled his submachine gun from beneath his dress coat. Strangely, though, he did not transform into his digimon form. "Who will be first?"   
"How about you?" a dark voice responded from behind.   
Nicolae and Delores turned back in shock. A black armored dragon was standing behind them, his claws glowing silver. A sinister gleam was in his blue eyes.   
"Black War Greymon," Nicolae stammered, dropping his machine gun onto the grass with a thud. "We did not … expect you here…."   
"Yeah, right." He raised his head towards the Holy Stone. "I've felt that Stone there much longer than your puny GPS system did." Then, turning towards the bamboo forest, "And I'm sure the Guardian did, too."   
"Guardian? What Guardian?" Delores stuttered, backing away from the dark dragon. "He can't be in those trees, they're too tightly packed!"   
"You don't know the Guardian as I do, then," Black War Greymon lowed, lashing out with his glowing claws. "Dramon Killer!"   
In one swipe the glowing claws sent Delores and Nicolae flying over the bamboo forest. Seconds later, a small cloud of dust rose, marking where they had landed.   
"They're not going to meddle with me this time," Black War Greymon growled, raising his arms into the air. "Now the destruction of the Holy Stones shall be finished!" A ball of fire started to form in his hands…. 

"Oh, shoot!" Parker cursed, aiming his gun for Black War Greymon's legs. "He's going to destroy the Stone!" 

Patamon flew out of Takeru's arms, heading towards Black War Greymon. "Patamon, evolve…!"   
Takeru, realizing Patamon's mistake, screamed out in horror. 

"Gaia Force!"   
Parker fired his gun, gaining two shots into Black War Greymon's legs. The dragon keeled over forwards, but the fireball was still flying out towards the Holy Stone.   
A white light shot out from the forest, aiming to block the path of the fiery attack. Words shot out from the light in perfect English….   
"Heaven's … Knuckle!"   
The fireball was forced off its course, flying over Black War Greymon's head. It exploded seconds later a few yards away.   
The light then died away, and an angel could be seen leaning on his golden staff in front of the other children's digimon…. 

"We're screwed now," Parker moaned, burying his face in his hands. "Angemon's here."   
"Come on, it's not that bad," Buck smiled. "At least I won't get possessed." 

"You've made a mistake, Angemon," Black War Greymon growled, advancing towards the Holy Stone purposefully with a visible limp. "I know of your connection with the Holy Stones … you'd be dead with a single attack…." His claws glowed silver again. "Dramon Killer!"   
Angemon brought up his staff to block the attack. "I will not go down so easily," he moaned, struggling against the dragon's might. He turned his head both to his left and right, only to see the other digimon back away from the fight.   
They knew it was not their battle.   
"Stop being so confident … Guardian," Black War Greymon lowed, bringing his whole weight down upon Angemon.   
"Why do you keep on saying that I am the Guardian?" Angemon roared, forcing Black War Greymon away with his remaining strength. "I am not him!"   
"There is something I've noticed about the three destined to be the Holy Stones' Guardians," Black War Greymon crooned. "Always resisting the truth … and they all look alike…."   
"What do you mean?" Angemon gasped.   
"You know what I mean," Black War Greymon rasped, releasing a claw from behind the angel's staff. He brought it towards Angemon's face….   
…. And knocked off his helm. 

Gasps issued from within the bamboo forest. Takeru inched closer to the edge of the woods to catch a closer glimpse. He could see Angemon forcing his eyes closed (What good would that do? Takeru thought) as he looked up at Black War Greymon. Yet something was familiar about that now-revealed face…. 

"I don't believe it," Parker whistled, pocketing his gun.   
"What?" Buck asked, peering through the bamboo.   
"I didn't know you had a twin, Buck," Parker gasped.   
"Yeah, sure," Buck said, but he soon wished he took back his words.   
Because Angemon's helm had concealed a face … that was just like his. 

"And the human known as Cameron Williams now knows the truth," Black War Greymon whispered. "Yes, Angemon … I knew that he was one of the others the Guardian had claimed. I just wish I fought him again … he put up a good fight…."   
Angemon, his eyes still closed, barely managed to thrust Black War Greymon off him. "Cameron is not fighting this battle," he replied weakly. "The final battle is mine…."   
"But in the end, I shall triumph!" Black War Greymon cried out. He leaped into the air and extended a glowing claw. "Dramon Killer!"   
Air rushed through the clearing as Black War Greymon sped off towards the angel. Angemon prepared himself to attack, but it was too late - the dragon had pierced his chest, and was now flying towards the Holy Stone with the digimon impaled on his clawed hand….   
A tremendous cracking noise filled the area as Black War Greymon's claw buried itself into the stone, pinning Angemon to it. Blue light filled the forest, blanking everything out; all that existed was the anguished cries of a digimon and his partner.   
And in that moment, Angemon finally opened his eyes. 

The light faded (intensified?) to white, and the entirety of the bamboo forest had disappeared. Buck, Parker, Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, Iori, Ken, and Miyako, and their digimon were now all exposed, prime targets for Black War Greymon.   
But the dragon wasn't there.   
Where the Holy Stone had once been were fragments of rock, all tinged with deep red blood. An angel was standing before the ruins, an ivory hunting horn in his hands. The Chosen Children recognized him instantly as the Guardian.   
"Where's Angemon?" Takeru asked, wiping tears from his eyes. "Is he…."   
The Guardian shook his head. "I am sorry, Takeru … that I broke my promise…."   
He brought the horn to his lips and prepared to sound it.   
Parker looked up at the horn, recognizing the medallion-shaped engraving on its side.   
"Don't blow it!" he cried out, running out towards the angel. "You know what's going to happen - the Digital Conundrum! Seven years of darkness!"   
"I know, Francis," the Guardian lowed. "But the last Stone has been destroyed…."   
And in that final instant, he brought the Trumpet of Hope to his mouth and sounded the call to the Golden Land…. 

[Midnight Cry (edited), new ending animation, and credits play….] 

A/N I know, I should choose a new ending song … I'll have a better choice by the time I finish writing the next installment. 


	12. Special Issue 02-A - VERSION UP music vi...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 1-4   
VERSION UP (Digital Conundrum opening theme)   
Opening Animation - no-credits version, TV-size 

[I thought I'd get something to tide you over before the next installment came out ... so here's the starting animation! Just note that the lyrics are in the original Japanese, the translation is below. The animation is placed between the {curly brackets}.] 

VERSION UP   
_performed by Koshiro Izumi_

**guitar riff**   
{Screen is dark. Pictures of Frank and Buck appear (like in CARD SLASH scenes from Digimon Tamers). Digital binary code fills background. Title card shows when music picks up. Just before the first words of song, pictures of major cast flash with the beat.} 

Sutaato wa yume e kurikku   
Oyogi da sou mirai e to janpu   
Shinjitsu wo utsusu uindou   
Mitsukeru tabi ni deru 

{Subtitles appear at bottom of screen. Frank and Buck point D3s to computer. The two go through Digital Gate, find themselves with their partners in Digital World. Holy Stones appear, then camera pans back to show Nicolae and Delores looking at scene in computer.} 

Soshite   
Atarashiku umare kawari   
Yurushi aru koto ga dekiru   
Dakara   
Imeiji wo mukou gawa e   
Tonde iko issho ni.... 

{Tentomon and Elecmon's evolutions are shown (like in the Digimon Tamers Japanese opening animation). Camera pans out to show a gilded portal, with Guardian standing before it. Camera turns into close-up of Guardian.} 

**guitar riff to end**   
{Chosen Children appear with their digimon, standing before a Holy Stone. Frank and Buck are in center of group, Tentomon and Elecmon in front of them. Image of Guardian and Nicolae, back to back, appears in background.} 

_- English Subtitle - _

Start by clicking to a dream   
Swim, jump to the future   
Set out on a journey to find   
The window that shows the truth 

And   
There will be a new rebirth   
And we will be able to forgive   
So   
Let's jump together   
To the other side of the image 

[Hope you enjoyed that! Coming up next: Itsudemo Aeru Kara, Left Behind, and Midnight Cry!] 


	13. Special Issue 02-B - Itsudemo Aeru Kara ...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 2-4   
Itsudemo Aeru Kara (Digital Conundrum ending theme)   
Ending Animation - no-credits version, TV-size 

There is no real animation that follows this song. It all depends not only on the reader, but on the episode. If the reader had seen the first season of Starla (Princess Gwenevere) and the Jewel Riders, s/he would know what I mean ... because the animation features scenes from that episode (much like the starting animation of Starla did). So use your imagination here! The only automatic given here is the English subtitles at the bottom of the screen. 

Itsudemo Aeru Kara (Because We Can See Each Other Anytime)   
_Performed by Ai Maeda_

Kirakira shiteru kibun wa   
Ohisama na no   
Happa no shizuku sarari   
Matsuge ni ukete 

Ima hirogaru sukuriin   
Kimi to issho da ne   
Saa dokomademo tsuzuku   
Sunahama faraway   
Dakishimete tonde 

Mahiro no hoshi nagai kami chirabamete   
Mabushi sa no kiss shizuka ni kudasai   
Mahou ga tokeru toki koibito ni nareru ka mo   
Dakedo ima wa kimi no yume no naka ni iru dake.... 

_- English Subtitle - _

This glittering feeling   
Is like the sun   
A leaf drops   
And falls onto my eyelashes 

Now the unfolding screen   
Shows me with you   
Always somewhere   
On a sandy beach faraway   
Hugging and jumping 

The light of the midday star falls on my long hair   
And I quietly ask you for a dazzling kiss   
You can be my lover until the spell breaks   
But for now it's only in your dreams.... 

[Think that was fun, eh? Wait for parts 3 and 4 of this special issue: Left Behind and Midnight Cry!] 


	14. Special Issue 02-C - Left Behind music v...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 3-4   
Left Behind (Digital Conundrum opening theme for _Angel's Trumpet Sounding_)   
Opening Animation - no-credits version, TV-size 

[This is one of the two current songs for Digital Conundrum that are in English - but there's still captions at the bottom, just to keep consistant. All words that were capitalized for reasons that other readers may not like have been changed to lower-case, so as to not offend anybody.] 

Left Behind (opening theme from "Left Behind: the movie")   
_Performed by Bryan Duncan and Shine mk_

**intro**   
{Images of major characters appear on beat. Binary code in background. Title card shows when music picks up. When voice says "all the possiblities" (something like that), Tentomon and Elecmon's evolutions are shown.} 

You might think I'm crazy   
But I've been feelin' lately   
I'm standin' on the edge of somethin' ready to break   
More and more I hear it   
Something in my spirit   
Telling me we're closer than ever to that day 

{Frank and Buck run away from Mummymon, they reach a dead end that turns out to be a cliff. Images of Chosen Children (Digimon Adventure 02) flash across screen. Coundown (ten seconds) comes quickly to an end. Previous two scenes are superimposed over a picture of a Holy Stone.} 

The sky will open up, every knee will bow   
The revelation's comin', so let me tell you now 

{Just as it says above: A beam of light shoots down from the sky. Chosen Children tremble. Frank, Buck, their partners, and the Guardian flash onto screen with beat.} 

When it comes down   
I've made up my mind   
I know that I will not be left behind   
I see all around, the signs of the times   
I know that I will not be left behind.... 

{The Holy Stone shatters. Screen turns white, fades out to show Chosen Children's clothings on ground. Camera pans back to show Frank viewing the same scene on his D3, then turns to show him, Buck, and their digimon standing in the same settings that the D3 revealed.} 

[One more song to go! Next up: Midnight Cry!] 


	15. Special Issue 02-D - Midnight Cry music ...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 4-4   
Midnight Cry (Digital Conundrum ending theme for _Angel's Trumpet Sounding_)   
Ending Animation - no-credits version, TV-size, edited 

[You read correctly, this is an EDITED version. I just didn't want to post the lyrics to the chorus here because I knew I'd offend some people. And, of course, with Frank and Buck's complaining over the song.... Well, anyway, here it is. Just note that the whole of this animation is in black-and-white.] 

Midnight Cry (closing theme to "Left Behind: the movie")   
_Performed by various artists *_

**intro**   
{Frank's data loads, showing a picture of him on one side and Tentomon on the other. All of Tentomon's evolutions show, including those that haven't been presented yet in the story. When guitar comes in, the same goes for Buck and Elecmon.} 

I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind   
And it's closer now than it's ever been   
I can almost hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the call   
At the midnight cry we'll be going home.... 

{As with Frank and Buck, the Chosen Children from Digimon Adventure 02 are shown with their digimon in the order as follows: Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Ken, Hikari. Fladramon runs by Daisuke, Aquilamon flys past Miyako, Submarimon and Ankylomon go past Iori, Stingmon flys by Ken, Nefertimon glides past Hikari. Paildramon and Silphymon run after Hikari's picture shows. Scene cuts to Takeru, holding Patamon. He is looking up at something - camera moves up to find it's the Guardian, holding the Trumpet of Hope. Cut to all the Chosen Children, led by Frank and Buck. Frank is holding out his D3 towards audience - camera pans to behind the children, to show a computer, then the group vanishes.} 

* "Various Artists" meaning (almost) everyone that performed a song on the "Left Behind" movie soundtrack. 

[Thus is the end of this special issue of Digital Conundrum! The next one, scheduled to be released after either Backstep 13 or 14, will be a complete Cast of Characters and the image songs for Frank, Buck, and one of the three other ancient Chosen Children! Until then, wait for the next episode of Digital Conundrum!]   
(All the lyrics from this four-part special issue belong to other people, and not me! So don't sue me, 'cause you'll only get my extra copy of the English Digimon soundtrack.) 


	16. Two Chosen Children Lost, Three Chosen C...

Backstep 10   
Two Chosen Children Lost, Three Chosen Children Found 

{While I searched for hours for the lyrics to _Left Behind_ and _Midnight Cry_, I found the perfect lyrics for an ending theme! Unfortunately, I only heard half of the first verse on a sound clip. But for now, _'Til the End of the World_ by Clay Crosse is the new ending theme! Any suggestions for a better song can be put in a review, 'cause I can't think of one right now.... Oh, yeah, Batman is a trademark of DC Comics, Martha Stewart is a copyright of herself, and the X Files is a copyright of FOX and a lot of other companies. And I apparently don't own _'Til the End of the World_.} 

[VERSION UP and starting animation plays....] 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - unknown   
Time - unknown   
------------------------------------------------- 

The Trumpet of Hope had sounded, its mellow tone soothing to Frank Parker and Buck Williams' ears. It was so much more beautiful than it sounded in the previous timeline - back then it was ruined by static over a laptop's speakers.   
Parker moved to rub his eyes, and Buck tried to stifle a yawn. They just wanted to sleep ... the light was so enticing, wanting to swallow them....   
The scene faded from their eyes as the trumpet's call faded away.... 

_"Where are we, Frank?"   
"I don't know, how about you?"   
"What is this place?"   
Voices rushed into Parker and Buck's consciousness, jolting them awake. The two men were standing, but they were not the only ones.   
Thousands - no, millions of people were standing in a vast space, all clothed in white robes similar to the Guardian's. There was nothing else in this space, just the people and endless white light as far as they could see....   
The Guardian stood in the center of the mass, in front of Parker and - now that he noticed - the Japanese Chosen Children. Other than Daisuke, Takeru, and the others, though, there were five other children standing behind them.   
"This is the Golden Land the Center of the worlds hides," the Guardian lowed. "The Golden Land is governed by the Supreme Deity, and protected by the Guardian. You are the Chosen, destined to reside here during the Seven-Year Darkness. More will follow after as the Seven Years progress. All of you, head for the golden arches at the edges of this space - your paradise - the paradise that will befall the Earth and Digital World at the end of the Darkness - lies beyond."   
Silently the vast number of people turned around, heading for the ornate arches that could barely be seen at the edges of the room. When the multitude had filed out, Parker, Buck, and the Japanese Chosen Children stood before the Guardian, not a thought crossing their minds.   
"Chosen Children," the Guardian started, "you have served the Earth and the Digital World well. Come and rest, for you are weary. Go through the gates."   
Both Japanese and American Chosen Children nodded their heads and walked towards the gates, yet were halted again by the Guardian's words.   
"Francis Parker and Cameron Williams, stay here."   
Puzzled, the two men halted in their tracks as the Japanese children ran on through the gate. After the last child left, the two men turned around.   
"You still have a task to complete, Chosen Children," the Guardian whispered. "Sixteen years ago you defeated the demon that has now taken over both your world and the Digital one. I must send you back to defeat him again."   
Parker and Buck gasped. "Why us? Why not the other children?" Parker asked.   
"Two other of your original group still remain on Earth," the Guardian replied. "They did not hear the call to the Golden Land, and do not remember the task they had in the Digital World."   
"Neither do we!" Buck cried.   
The Guardian did not seem to hear him. "These two Chosen Children are named Chloe Steele and Tsion Ben-Judah. They are separated far from each other - it is up to you to unite again."   
"Can't you do that?" Parker asked.   
"No ... I am confined to this land until the halfway mark of the Seven-Year Darkness. And the half-point is too late."   
Parker and Buck gave a silent 'oh'.   
"To aid you on your mission," the Guardian continued, "you must find two Holy Rings. They are miniatures of what encircled the Holy Stones. They will help your partners evolve."   
"But I thought the Crests helped with that," Buck said.   
"I draw my power from your Crests now," the Guardian replied. "It is what keeps me alive after the destruction of the Holy Stones ... it is what will bring you back home…."   
And with those words, the Golden Land faded from Parker and Buck's eyes...._

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - NNL   
Time - one minute into Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Owsley had been spying through Parker's D3 ever since he had routed the last Holy Stone's coordinates to it. When he heard the trumpet blast almost thirty minutes later, he knew something had gone wrong.   
"That must be ... the Trumpet of Hope!" Owsley gasped. "Oh no...."   
And immediately after the mellow tone died out, the D3-connection screen blanked out in white. 

In Talmadge's office, the trumpet roared through the speakers in the big-screen television situated in the corner. The project-head of Operation Backstep was smoking a cigar at the time, paying no attention to the latest report on CNN. But the trumpet had awoken Talmadge, startling him and making him drop his now-extinguished cigar.   
"What was that?" he roared, scanning the room. The white-coated scientists were still roaming the halls outside without a care.   
Then he turned back to the television. All that was left of the news anchor was a pile of folded clothes.   
"Holy mother of god," Talmadge whispered, staring at the screen. "This can't be happening - Buck and Frank...."   
A beeping on the telephone called his attention. Blindly Talmadge pressed a button as he stared at the television - the words TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, PLEASE STAND BY flashing on the screen. Strangely, the ticker was still scrolling at the bottom, but it was just the day's closing stock quotes.   
"Mr. Talmadge, Owsley here," came Owsley's voice on the speaker. "Did you hear it?"   
"You mean that blasted trumpet?" Talmadge replied. "Yes."   
"I think I know what it was." Owsley's voice had grown shaky.   
"And what was it?" came the urgent question.   
A pause. "Talmadge ... I think it was the Trumpet of Hope."   
Talmadge sighed, leaning back in his leather chair. "So that explains why the news anchor vanished," he muttered, too low for Owsley to hear. "What about Frank and Buck? Any word?"   
"Well, Mr. Talmadge, sir ... since the trumpet sounded, the link between my computer and the D3 network was shattered. I mean, I could still tap into the system, see the locations of everyone ... but I'm only picking up a D-Prime right now - belonging to a kid in Japan. There's no sign of Frank or Buck anywhere, Mr. Talmadge."   
"So it's all over, then," Talmadge sighed with a strange finality. "Without Frank ... we can't backstep. And Donovan's scores are less than required to make it through. We've just got to face it. Project Backstep is no more. I'll call the Panel and tell them." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - the Center   
Time - unknown   
------------------------------------------------- 

Frank Parker and Buck Williams opened their eyes again, only to find themselves standing in the circular room that was the Center. The multiple mirrors that led to the thousands of other worlds encircled the two men - yet all but two of them were sealed shut behind ornate silver doors.   
"What just happened?" Buck asked, rubbing his head. "Last I remember, I was standing in white robes before that Guardian...."   
"Same here," Parker moaned. He looked down at himself - he was in the jumpsuit he wore at NNL. "Hey - where are the digimon?"   
"Must be in the Digital World still," Buck replied. "Come on, we'd better go find them before they get worried."   
"You go on ahead - I'm going to talk to Owls for a while." Parker took out his D3 and pressed the button that would allow him to communicate with the Backstep team on Earth.   
The problem was, Owsley's face didn't show up - just a white screen.   
Parker cursed and followed Buck to one of the two available mirrors. This one showed the pond of ramen and the shattered remains of the Holy Stone. The sky overhead had turned a steel gray.   
"This must be it," Buck said with a sigh. "Let's go."   
A shattering sound reverberated through the Center as the two men dashed through the portal. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - the ramen pond, Digital World   
Time - thirty minutes into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Tentomon and Elecmon were sitting by the shore of the ramen pond when a shattering sound invaded their ears.   
"What was that?" Tentomon queried in his matter-of-fact voice.   
"Nearly blasted my ears out," Elecmon grumbled.   
A blue circle of light started to form in front of the two digimon, almost two yards away from them. Two men emerged from the light, yet the digimon couldn't tell who they were until the light finally faded away.   
"It's Frank and Buck!" Tentomon exclaimed.   
"But how?" Elecmon muttered. "They vanished with the rest of the kids."   
Parker and Buck ran up towards their digimon and held them close. The two men had seemingly relieved expressions on their faces.   
"Where were you?" Elecmon asked Buck.   
"It's a long story," Buck sighed. "Why don't you tell, Frank?"   
"Not right now," Parker groaned. "Maybe when we have time."   
"Time?" Tentomon said, puzzled. "I don't get it."   
"You wouldn't understand now, guys. We have to find two Holy Rings before we get back home?"   
"Why?" Elecmon asked.   
"Supposedly, they're to help you guys evolve," Buck said. "Our Crests don't work anymore."   
"But I don't have my Crest," Parker said.   
"Actually, we found it," Tentomon chimed. "It was in the ruins of the Holy Stone. See?" He held out one of his claws, revealing a ball of silver light.   
Parker took out his Tag from beneath his shirt and brought it to the light. The light vanished when the Tag touched it. Curious, Parker brought the Tag up to his eyes - he found a simplified clock face engraved on the dog tag's reverse, along with characters in Digital Hieroglyphs. Strangely, though, they were not rearranging into English.   
"Buck, how come I'm not able to read this, but you were?" Parker asked, showing Buck the Tag.   
"Beats me," Buck shrugged. He looked at the inscription, watching the strange characters fade into English words. "The Crest of Time," he recited after a few seconds, handing the Tag back to Parker.   
"Well, they're no help to us now," Parker sighed. "Come on, let's go find these dumb Holy Rings before these seven years are over." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Backstep Panel, Arlington, Virginia   
Time - two days into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

"So you're saying, Bradley Talmadge, that Operation Backstep is no more," a female voice said from the shadows of the conference room.   
Talmadge, his seated form the only one bathed in light, gave a grave nod. "That is correct. Frank Parker is one of the million casualties wrought by the disappearances. And our other candidate, Craig Donovan, still does not have the ability to successfully operate the Sphere. Testing other would-be chrononauts would take more than seven days - it would not be enough time to undo these disappearances."   
Another figure could be seen nodding in the near-darkness. "We understand, Mr. Talmadge. However, we have been pooling resources to prepare for this particular event."   
Talmadge was taken aback, but he didn't show it. "What resources?"   
"Bradley," another voice - male - said, "we have known long before your personnel at Backstep about the existence of parallel worlds. There is one we are working very well with called 200X."   
"We have a program there called Project Hypnos," the first female voice said. "Our operative there, Mitsuo Yamaki, has been cooperating with us since Mr. Parker returned from the previous timeline." A pause. "His staff has reason to believe that these disappearances were all prophesied."   
"200X has a legend, as do we on Earth," the male voice started. "Revelation, Apocalypse, Armageddon, Digital Conundrum - as your staff calls it, Mr. Talmadge - they all tell of the same thing ... seven years of darkness."   
"On our world," another voice said, "one of our holy books states that a man named John had seen these seven years in a vision. He saw that our world was to be ruled by a dark beast for these seven years, and that twenty-one plagues would come down upon the people to purge the beast."   
"200X has a similar legend," the male voice added.   
"So ... what are we going to do about it?" Talmadge asked.   
"We have made plans with Project Hypnos and with our military," the female voice said. "Mr. Yamaki is sending his two top agents: Jianliang Lee and Shaochung Wong. They're brother and sister, and are very resourceful. Yamaki is going to sneak them into the regime of this dark ruler.   
"We have also informed the military to hide a quarter of our weapons: nuclear missiles, guns, grenades, planes, tanks, the works. 200X has given us information that the ruler will want global peace, and will achieve that by ordering us to destroy ninety-nine percent of every country's weapons and war machines, and give the remaining one percent to him. This, of course, will give him great advantage if a country rebels. NNL is to be made into one of these hiding places ... the Sphere is one of our weapons."   
"You and your staff, Mr. Talmadge," another voice arose, "will be relocated to an undisclosed location. You will choose which men to act as spies within the dark regime. We will need all the information on how the regime operates, and how it will survive through the seven years."   
Talmadge nodded. "When are we moving?"   
"Two weeks," the female voice said.   
"And who do you think is the leader of the dark regime?"   
There was a considerably prolonged pause. After two minutes, the male voice replied in a low voice.   
"We have reason to believe that the leader ... is Secretary-General Nicolae Carpathia." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - NNL   
Time - three days into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

"So this is it? It's over?" Craig Donovan exclaimed in the conference room. Owsley, Talmadge, and Ramsey were around the table, too - Olga and Metnor were a few of the casualties NNL had suffered three days ago, and Frank and Buck were written up as gone, as well.   
"You don't have the credentials to backstep, Craig," Talmadge sighed. "The Panel insisted that we leave this place. They're going to pick us up thirteen days from now."   
"Why?" Ramsey blurted. "What about the Sphere?"   
"I can't disclose this information right now," Talmadge said. "If you really want that information that badly, you should watch the news. Your old hero Nicolae Carpathia may have some interesting things to say." He picked up a remote control and flipped on the big-screen television.   
For perhaps the hundredth time since the disappearances, Nicolae Carpathia's face graced the screen. A news ticker was scrolling across the bottom of the screen: "Nicolae Carpathia, secretary-general of the United Nations has decreed to move the headquarters of the United Nations to Babylon. He has also ordered all nations to destroy 99% of their weaponry and give the remaining 1% to the United Nations."   
"Talmadge, are you sure this mummy's plans are well-intentioned?" Owsley droned. "He seems to have a good idea."   
"Well, according to the Panel, it's not," Talmadge sighed. "But don't worry, we're still all going to work together - just not here."   
"Then what are we doing next?" Donovan asked.   
"The Panel has ordered us to infiltrate Nicolae Carpathia's regime," Talmadge replied. "That's our mission … for the next seven years. I suggest that we all pack up our belongings now. I'll tell the rest of the staff tomorrow. Dismissed."   
The few remaining senior staff members filed out of the conference room, but Owsley and Talmadge still remained in their seats.   
"Andrew, what is it?" Talmadge said after a few minutes, noticing that the other man hadn't left yet.   
"Well, Mr. Talmadge," Andrew started nervously, "I checked the D3 program yesterday. Remember when I checked right after the disappearances, Frank and Buck's stats were gone?" Talmadge nodded. "Well, when I checked it out today, they just came back. Location, companions, the whole enchilada."   
Talmadge's eyes bulged in his squat face. "So they didn't disappear?" he asked, shocked. "Where are they? Who's with them?"   
"Frank and Buck are with their translators, and they're in the Digital World," Owsley explained. "There's only one little glitch - since the disappearances, I guess time started to flow differently in the Digital World."   
"Meaning?"   
"I checked out the screen that lets me communicate with Frank. Everything on his side is going at super-slow-motion. It seems that whatever's gone on for the past three days here is thirty minutes in the Digital World. If I send a message to Frank, he won't be able to hear it - it'd last only a few seconds, he wouldn't be able to catch it."   
"So they're completely cut off from us?"   
"It seems like it."   
"Okay. Thanks, Andrew." He sighed. "I'll get some men, keep them on the watch for Buck and Frank while we infiltrate the Carpathia regime. You're excused, Andrew." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Mount Prospect, Illinois, United States   
Time - seventeen days into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

"This is our new headquarters?" Ramsey scoffed in disbelief after the three black vans dropped off the senior staff of Project Backstep in a residential neighborhood.   
"It is a nice house," Owsley droned, carrying boxfuls of comic books in his arms. He dropped them on the deserted semicircular drive and stared up at the house. "Looks like Martha Stewart's."   
"It's not Martha Stewart's," Donovan laughed. His only luggage, a large duffel bag bursting at the seams, was slung over a shoulder.   
"Of course not," Ramsey scowled. "It belongs to the Steele family. Parker crashed the Sphere right in front of this house almost a month ago! And he made the Conundrum call here, too."   
"Well, it looks like nobody's home," Talmadge said, setting a few suitcases down on the drive. "Besides, we're only boarding here. Our main operations are at the New Hope Church just two blocks down."   
The three other men turned to face Talmadge, wide eyed in shock. "A CHURCH?" they all exclaimed, more or less in unison.   
"Has the Panel gone out of their mind?" Ramsey said, disgusted.   
"Well, it is a rather inconspicuous location," Talmadge said, a sweatdrop sliding down his face. "Churches were considered sanctuaries, even for criminals. Besides, the pastor there, Bruce, he's making a high-tech underground shelter for permanent residence and operations." He laughed. "Come on, you guys. These next seven years won't be all that bad."   
"I don't see myself living underground with him," Owsley muttered, discreetly gesturing his eyes at Ramsey. "I can't stand being in the same room with him for a minute." 

Three days later, Owsley had hooked up computers in every room in the two story house. Talmadge had claimed the master bedroom ("It has a walk-in closet!"); Donovan staked out the parlor ("I could guard the door, you know.") and Ramsey had settled down in the guest bedroom ("One room has punk rock posters, and the other has Spider-man stickers. Sheesh! Kids these days...."). Owsley, for lack of choice, made the room with the Spider-man stickers his own, livening up the space with cardboard cutouts of various super-heroes.   
Owsley's room was a modest affair - it had belonged to a boy barely older than ten, from what he could figure. Obviously, the boy was a casualty of the disappearances - Owsley had found the boy's pajamas lying haphazardly beneath the covers of the bed. The youth had left behind quite a treasure trove of valuables, in Owsley's eyes: comic books, rare action figures, even tapes of the original Batman live-action series. The only thing that didn't seem to fit with the rest was an autographed photo in a wooden frame.   
The autograph simply said: _To my dearest Raymie, from Dad._   
The boy in the picture was dressed casually, similar to Owsley. He was standing next to a man in a dress uniform, with the logo of Pan-Continental Airlines sewn onto his arms. Below, like in official press-release pictures, were typed the words RAYFORD STEELE, 747 PILOT, PAN-CONTINENTAL.   
"Wow," Owsley droned, looking at the picture for maybe the first time since he arrived. "An airline pilot."   
"I know. Daddy had such a glamorous career."   
Owsley turned around in shock. Donovan was standing in the doorway of the room, carrying a young girl in lightly by the arm. The kid looked like she had just entered college.   
"Who're you, kid?" Owsley said, obviously annoyed by Donovan's intrusion, and more so by the girl's uninvited presence.   
"Her name's Clo-ee," Donovan said, stumbling terribly over the girl's name.   
"It's Chloe," the girl corrected rebelliously. "Sounds like one syllable, not two, you Navy SEAL wannabe!"   
"Be careful, kid," Donovan growled. "I am a SEAL - want to see the tattoos?"   
"No, thanks," Chloe said, forcing herself from Donovan's grip.   
"What's she doing here?" Owsley asked, flopping himself on the low-set bed nearby. "I don't recall Talmadge saying there'd be any other lodgers here."   
"I live here, dork," Chloe replied. "Just got back from Stanford - traffic's been lousy since the Rapture, and my new SUV got stolen. I've had to hitchhike my way here from Denver." A pause. "Have you seen Raymie? Or my parents?"   
"Your mother and Raymie have disappeared," Donovan said curtly. "As for your father ... we don't know yet. The airlines haven't given out casualty reports."   
"Great," Chloe sighed, hints of tears rising into her eyes. "So I'm stuck with you two?"   
"Well, actually, it's us and two of our friends," Owsley explained. "We're government agents sent here to-"   
Donovan brought a hand in a slashing motion across his neck. "The government told us to board here," he said quickly. "We'll just be here a few months, investigating the disappearances."   
"Oh, right," Chloe said. "Well, I hope you don't get the same answer as a few of the people I've run into."   
"And what's that?" Owsley asked.   
"One of the guys I hitched a ride with said that some god brought all this down," Chloe laughed. "He said somebody blew a trumpet and brought all the good people up to heaven. He called it a rapture, or something like that. Sounds like a fanatical religious theory, if you ask me. Like something my mother and Raymie would believe in."   
Owsley shook his head. "Nah. I bet we'll find a different answer than that." He passed a discreet wink to Donovan. "In fact, I think I could show you some of the information we already have. Donovan, could you leave us?"   
The soldier shrugged. "Okay. I'll be downstairs talking to Ramsey about this." He padded away, making sure to close the door behind him.   
Chloe, disgruntled, stood cross-armed before Owsley. "So, what kind of evidence do you have on these disappearances? Some alien invaders or something out of the X Files?"   
Owsley shrugged. "You could say that."   
He stood up and quickly eyed Chloe. She was a tall girl, just a hair shorter than Owsley was. Her skin was pale, and her shoulder-cropped hair was brown with spots of blond highlights. A nose ring decorated her left nostril, and various earrings covered both her ears. Her torn denim jacket was worn over a blue tank top a few sizes too small, and her baggy khakis had seen better days. Beaten-up military-issue black boots peeked out from beneath her pants. Grayish-green eyes glared back at Owsley, tinged with tears.   
"Great - just another wacko idea about this entire disappearance thing," Chloe scowled. "Who are you, anyway?"   
"I'm Andrew Owsley," Owsley stammered. "And you already introduced yourself."   
"I know," Chloe retorted. "So, Andrew, the evidence?"   
"Oh, yeah." Owsley ran to his computer and rid the screen saver. The program he used to contact Parker and Buck on the D3 was up - it showed the two men progressing slowly somewhere in the Digital World. He clicked on the icon that represented Parker's D3, calling up a separate window with a list of all the things he had recorded up till the time of the disappearances. "I have a video somewhere on here of what caused the disappearances, maybe you'd like to see it-"   
"Digivice?" Chloe gasped, staring at the screen. "You have a Digivice program?"   
"Well, not exactly," Owsley chuckled. "I just tapped into Frank's-"   
"Frank?" Her eyes started to widen. "Is his last name Parker, by any chance?"   
"Uh, yeah," Owsley said, clueless. "Why? You know him?"   
Chloe nodded. "I haven't seen him in sixteen years. Is a guy named Cameron Williams with him, too?"   
Now it was Owsley's turn to gape. "How did you know?"   
"I traveled with both of them, when I was little!"   
"Let me guess - sixteen years ago?"   
Chloe nodded. "And all three of us got these little digivice things." She stuffed a hand into a pants pocket and pulled out a small stopwatch-like trinket.   
Owsley had never seen an original digivice before, except for the small icons on his digivice program. For all he knew, it was one of those toys imported from Asia. But he had seen the Tags that Parker and Buck wore - Parker had let him examine Buck's while the journalist had gone in a second time for stitches. According to Parker, all digivice users had Tags and Crests - he just hadn't seen them on the Japanese children.   
"You don't happen to have a Tag on you, too?" Owsley asked.   
Chloe placed the digivice by the computer and pulled out a dog tag from beneath her shirt. The side facing Owsley was engraved with the words CHLOE STEELE. "Is this it?" she asked. "I can't seem to read what's on the other side, though." She flipped the Tag over, revealing a message in Digital Hieroglyphs and a stylized heart design.   
"I've seen those symbols before," Owsley gasped. He pulled open the Digital Hieroglyph Translator, set it to translate from Hieroglyphs to English, and input the strange symbols into a field. After pressing the TRANSLATE button, he immediately got a response.   
"Chloe," he said, "the Tag says that's the Crest of Love." 

[_'Til the End of the World_, credits, and new ending animation plays....] 


	17. Dark Lighthouse Upon the Horizon

[Lord of the Rings is a copyright of JJR Tolkien. Copy/paste other disclaimers here.] 

{VERSION UP and starting animation plays....} 

Backstep 11   
Dark Lighthouse Upon the Horizon 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Digital World   
Time - almost three hours into Digital Conundrum, Digital World time   
------------------------------------------------- 

"So, where exactly are these Holy Rings?"   
"Don't ask me, Tentomon. If I asked Owsley, maybe he'd give us some intel."   
"Have you been able to talk to him recently?"   
"Not since we were at that ramen place."   
Buck, Parker, Tentomon and Elecmon were walking through the bamboo forest - or at least what had been the bamboo forest near the Holy Stone. Since the sounding of the Trumpet of Hope, the forest had grown wild. And not only that - the foliage had changed entirely. Now it was like a tropical rainforest, devoid of wild animals or digimon, not to mention humanity.   
"Why don't you try talking to him now?" Tentomon asked for probably the hundredth time. He seemed to have grown impatient.   
"Not now - I'd doubt he's awake at a time like this!"   
"Come on! Just this once?"   
Parker forced out a heavy sigh. "All right, all right, I'll do it." He pulled out his D3 and pressed a button. The map-grid faded away into white, when normally Owsley's drowsy face would fill the screen.   
"There!" Parker exclaimed, pocketing the D3 deep into his jacket. "Nobody home!"   
"He's probably just having a root beer," Tentomon suggested.   
"If circumstances were normal, I'd expect a lot of digimon rushing out to attack them," Elecmon grumbled beneath his breath. He and Buck were strolling a few feet behind Parker.   
"But things aren't," Buck sighed. He took out his D3 and called up the map-grid. Nothing could be seen, except for the four red dots that marked himself and the three others with him. Not even a blue star or two to mark the Holy Rings. There was, though, some warping at the edges of the screen that Buck hadn't noticed.   
"I don't like this place," Elecmon whispered as Buck put away his D3. "It doesn't feel right."   
Buck could feel a warmness upon his chest. Curious, he pulled out his Tag: it had started to shine again.   
"You're right," he soon added airily. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Owsley's room, Steele residence, Mount Prospect, Illinois, USA   
Time - seventeen days into Digital Conundrum, real world time   
------------------------------------------------- 

"A Crest of Love," Chloe breathed, taking the dog tag from Owsley's hands and slipping it over her head. "What does it do? I've had it for sixteen years."   
"Well, according to Frank, it's supposed to make a digimon evolve," Owsley said, turning to face the girl. "I'm assuming you have a digimon somewhere."   
Chloe shook her head. "I left my digimon behind in the Digital World, after whatever I did back then. I think my partner was a Hawkmon...."   
"Hawkmon ... I think I've seen one of those before," Owsley mused. "Some Japanese girl named Miyako had one, I think. She's gone now, of course - casualty of the disappearances."   
"Oh. I see." She sighed. "How long is this supposed to last? I mean, all these people being gone … how long until they get back?"   
Owsley shrugged. "Beats me. Probably they'll get back in seven years and have the world to themselves." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Digital World   
Time - over three hours into Digital Conundrum, Digital World time   
------------------------------------------------- 

The two men and their partners were still marching through the dense forest. It was silent, with the exception of Parker and Tentomon's incessant bickering over communications on the D3. Buck, weary, was seated on Kentarumon's back. Occasionally he would take glimpses of the forest before falling into a brief nap - he couldn't help but notice that the trees were fading into black and white.   
"Did a volcano go off around here?" Buck yawned after ten minutes of riding through the bleak landscape. "Everything looks coated with ash."   
"Doubt it," Kentarumon murmured. "Sulfur stench lingers for quite a while in the Digital World. I'd say this was brought about by the sounding of the Trumpet."   
"Darkness befalling the Earth and Digital World ... I didn't think it'd be taken so literally." Buck yawned and said a faint "Wake me later" before he drifted off to sleep. 

"Buck!"   
The journalist awoke with a start, something he was unaccustomed to. He found himself on a sandy surface, looking up at Elecmon's beaming face. Strangely, though, it wasn't in the bright blue-striped red he remembered - it was all muted by subtle shades of gray.   
"Did I go color blind or something?" Buck yawned as he stood up. He saw Parker and Tentomon a few feet away, looking out at something in the distance - they seemed to have stopped their bickering by now. "Everything looks so ... gray."   
"Remind you of something?" Elecmon asked.   
Buck turned around to get a sense of where he was. He and Parker were on a beach, battered by steely waves with the consistency of oil. To his left was a Japanese-style fishing village, rotting into the earth; to his right, the remains of a lighthouse dotted the breakwater....   
"We can't be here again," Buck gasped. "We're at the Dark Ocean."   
"Ain't that a treat," Parker said, sarcastic. "We've already found everything we need out here." He took out his D3 and checked out the map grid. "See? No stars at the fishing village, nothing out in the ocean, and - wait, what's this?"   
Buck took out his D3 and did the same. "There's something out near the lighthouse," he mused. "Two - no, four blue stars."   
"Could they be the Holy Rings?" Tentomon asked.   
"Beats me," Parker shrugged. "Now come on - let's get them so we could get home and undo all this." He trudged off to the breakwater, his partner flying off behind him.   
Buck sighed and followed in the younger man's footsteps. He knew that Parker wanted to go back in time to undo the Digital Conundrum - even though it would mean not seeing Elecmon again. Buck had learned to tolerate his partner, and Parker may have, as well; the chrononaut would have a tough time choosing to backstep or not. Besides, the words the Guardian spoke at the Dark Ocean, when Parker and Buck had first met him, started to echo in the journalist's head.   
_I know Francis went back in time to undo this ... but you must know that nothing can prevent a Digital Conundrum...._   
It seemed to be no time before the two humans and their digimon had reached the ruins of the lighthouse. The area was abandoned, save for them, yet the stench of a past struggle still hung in the air.   
"How long has it been since we were here?" Buck asked, leaning against a wall of the lighthouse.   
"A few days," Parker replied simply. He took out his D3 and scanned the map grid. "The items are inside - come on."   
The two men and the digimon silently entered the lighthouse through a decent-sized hole that may have been a doorway. The interior of the lighthouse was rather dreary, like the rest of the world: A staircase that used to spiral to an upper level now hung in midair; the light that would have signaled to faraway ships was now slivers of glass and mirrors on the rotting wooden floor. The roof was patchy, at best - the clouds could be seen poking through at times. Another stairway, sunken in the ground, led to a basement.   
"Nothing shiny around here," Elecmon grumbled after scouring the ground level. Tentomon had flown to the higher reaches of the tower, examining the rotting causeways.   
"Same here," the insect-like digimon reported after flying down to Parker's side a few minutes later.   
"Maybe it's in the basement," Buck mused. He marched down to the sunken stairs and clambered slowly down, Elecmon scurrying behind. Parker and Tentomon followed moments later.   
The damp underground room was poorly lit, especially with only the light of the D3s illuminating the environs. It was obviously close quarters: the men had to crouch down as to not have their heads collide against rock. The climb down was also relatively lengthy - currently they would probably be a few yards above the secret entrance to the Center that Takeru and Hikari had stumbled upon only days before, if they had known about it. Being so far underground, the two men were also growing chilly; even Parker, in his faux fur-lined jacket, would shiver.   
After a drawn-out fifteen minutes, the group finally reached the end of the stairway. This room, much like the winding staircase the men took, was all but pitch dark.   
Again Buck looked down at his D3. "It says that those Holy Rings are down here," he sighed. "If only we could see our way around here."   
"I don't have a flashlight," Parker shrugged. "But according to this, it says we're right on top of them."   
"Maybe they're underneath us," Elecmon stated. "I could dig for them."   
"Sounds like a good idea," Buck said, testing his way around the room, eyes glued to the D3 in his hands. After a few minutes he looked up. "This is strange, though - the star just ... vanished."   
"Hey, same here, Buck," Parker called from the other side of the room. "But we didn't find anything!"   
"Apparently it was an error on the D3's part," Tentomon buzzed. "Let's go back upstairs."   
Relieved to be out of the chilly, damp room - yet puzzled over the 'glitch' on the D3 - the two men and their partners slowly trudged their way back out into the open. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Steele residence   
Time - seventeen days into Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

"I'm telling you, Mr. Talmadge, that Chloe girl is a security risk! What if she's a spy for the Carpathia regime? We'd be found out even before the seven years started!"   
"Ramsey, calm down. She may just be a young girl trying to find her family. People are still doing that these days."   
Donovan, Ramsey, and Talmadge were sitting in the parlor, each of them with a mug of coffee in their hands. Talmadge was smoking on another cigar, filling the air with its pungent stench.   
"I'd doubt she's a security risk," Donovan shrugged. "I mean, according to the family profile the Panel gave us, it clearly states that Chloe is the daughter of the former owners of this house. How else would she know how to get here? Or how about her father's occupation?"   
"Donovan, there's a picture of an airline pilot in Owsley's room!" Ramsey exploded. "It was just a little hint!" 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Dark Ocean   
------------------------------------------------- 

"Uh, Frank, there's a ring on your right hand," Tentomon pointed out when the group reached topside. "And there's one on yours, too, Buck."   
"You've got to be kidding us," Parker scoffed, pocketing his D3. He raised his hand before his face, and a shocked expression immediately came upon him. "Is this ... a Holy Ring?" he asked blankly.   
Buck had put away his D3, and was looking at his hand in the same way. "I'd guess so. There seems to be some writing on it."   
"Digital Hieroglyphs, no doubt."   
"I can't tell, Frank - they're too eroded. Maybe if I rubbed off some of the dirt -"   
A crashing of rocks interrupted Buck's reverie. Frantically the men and digimon dove back into the basement staircase, waiting for the falling rocks to stop raining down.   
The dust cleared moments later, a sure enough sign to come out into the open. Now the lighthouse was nothing more than a conical shell half its original size; the spiral staircase was a twisted hunk of metal in the center. With the roof of the lighthouse gone, Parker and Buck could see the perpetrator of the destruction.   
Dagomon.   
"Not this jerk again," the group moaned in unison.   
"You thought you finished me off last time, didn't you?" the black squid-human-hybrid digimon hissed breathily between his fanged teeth. "You may have wounded me ... but the Dark Lighthouse will shine once again!"   
"What the hell is a Dark Lighthouse?" Parker breathed, not knowing that his answer would come in a flash of white light. He and Buck threw their arms over their eyes, but they knew that it was all futile.... 

The light died down to a comfortable level, suitable enough for the men to lower their arms. They and their partners were in a whitewashed, conical room, with a brass staircase leading up to a causeway hundreds of feet above. A prismatic light hung in the upper levels, yet its fire was dead.   
"I'm assuming this answered your question," Buck scoffed. "It sure looks like a lighthouse in Vermont."   
Parker eyed the journalist with an incredulous look - he had never been anywhere north of Philadelphia, with the exception of Alaska.   
Then the light above flashed on - but it was not the familiar white glow of a lighthouse's beacon. Instead, it was a beam of pure darkness, making the whitewashed room fall back into gray.   
Buck's Crest of Truth started to glow brightly from underneath his shirt. Suddenly weak, the journalist staggered his way to a door in the wall, hoping it would lead outside.   
"Buck, what's going on?" Parker called as he ran to the door, Elecmon and Tentomon behind him.   
"It's ... that light," Buck managed between shallow breaths, clutching the dog tag hidden beneath his clothes. "It's making the Crest shine ... remember that video?"   
Parker nodded, but chose not to traumatize Buck by retelling the situation.   
"We have ... to destroy that light," Buck hissed, throwing his weight on the door. It creaked open; Buck fell heavily onto the rocks outside. "It may be ... our last chance...."   
"It's already too late, Chosen Child," a booming, ominous voice called out from the ocean. Wearily Buck raised his head to look for the source; Parker came and knelt by his side, but looked up as well.   
The inhuman form of Dagomon rose from the ocean, a towering shadow before the two adult Chosen Children. His body was engulfed by light as the lighthouse's beacon swept over him. The digimon's shape seemed to grow slimmer, yet more lithe, towering ever so much higher above the breakwater, almost twice as tall as the lighthouse now....   
And then the light faded away, revealing the monster that Dagomon had become.   
He was now a leviathan, a sea serpent in metal plates, and his dragon-like head was hidden beneath a helmet of gold. Fangs jutted out from his mouth, and his darkness-muted crimson tongue lolled out of it.   
Parker took out his D3 and pressed a button, displaying the dragon's statistics. "His name's Metal Seadramon, a Final-level digimon," he gasped, trying to make himself heard to Buck. "His special attacks are Ultimate Stream and Poseidon Divide. And there's something here in Digital Hieroglyphs...."   
"Demon of the Ocean," Buck whispered, taking a short glance at Parker's D3. "He draws his strength from that light."   
"Excellent deduction," Metal Seadramon chuckled. "The Guardian destroyed the light millennia ago ... but thanks to the Holy Rings and the amplified powers of your Crests, it has risen again! All a simple matter of manipulating Time...."   
Parker, distracted by the serpent's words, took his dog tag from beneath his shirt. It, like Buck's, was shining, but not as strongly.   
_The Crest of Time has the power to control time_, the chrononaut thought, _just like me and the Sphere...._   
"And now I have no more need for your ... help," the serpent crooned, rearing his head. A blue light started to gather at his head, aimed for the two men on the breakwater.   
"Ultimate Stream!"   
A blue beam of energy, muted by the sweeping of the dark beacon, shot out towards the two men. Helplessly they looked up as the streaming energy drew closer....   
"Tentomon, evolve! Kabuterimon!"   
The giant insect's dark mass rammed into the side of Metal Seadramon's head, forcing the special attack off its target. The stream of turquoise light blasted through the lighthouse, causing the tower to topple over onto the far side of the breakwater.   
Buck's Crest stopped glowing, and he got to his feet, weakened no more by the dark light. "I have no idea why that happened," he gasped, slowly catching his breath.   
"It's your connection to the Guardian," Elecmon grumbled. "That's probably it - that digimon just wants to possess you again."   
"But he said he couldn't leave the Golden Land for three and a half years."   
"Because he was weak from the destruction of those Holy Stones," Elecmon snapped. "Now come on, we have to finish this demon off at last."   
Buck nodded and took out his D3. The device's screen started to glow with a whitish tinge.   
"Elecmon, evolve! Kentarumon!"   
The centaur galloped off to the edge of the breakwater, directly in front of Metal Seadramon. Kabuterimon was behind the dragon, a ball of electric energy forming in his hands.   
"Curse you!" the dragon roared. "You destroyed the lighthouse again! But as long as you hold the Holy Rings, I could rebuild it anew!"   
"He's distracted, Kabuterimon!" Parker called out. "Fire!"   
The giant insect opened its arms, releasing a stream of electricity towards Metal Seadramon's armor-plated backside. "Mega Blaster!"   
Blue flashes blanked out the Dark Ocean realm as Metal Seadramon was bombarded by the barrage of lightning. Yet moments later, when the light died down, the dragon still towered above the crashing waves.   
"Ha! My metal armor is insulated against electric attacks!" he taunted, flicking his pronged tail lazily. His tail lashed into Kabuterimon's side, sending the digimon crashing into the jagged rocks of the breakwater.   
"Kabuterimon!" Parker yelled, running over to his partner's side. "Are you okay?"   
"Just beat-up," the insect moaned. "Let me at him again."   
"You heard that blockhead," Parker argued; "electricity doesn't affect him."   
"Darn." He looked over at Buck, off some ten yards away in distance. "You know, it'd be nice if that Guardian came over to help us."   
Parker nodded. "But I don't think Buck wants to go through that again." 

Just a few feet away, Buck and Kentarumon still defiantly held their ground before Metal Seadramon. Buck ran over to his partner and leaped onto his back.   
"Come on, Kentarumon," he urged, "you've gotta do something!"   
"All my attacks are electric, Buck," he grumbled, pawing at the rocks.   
"Damn," Buck whispered, noting that Metal Seadramon was starting to lower his head down at them.   
Then he saw a patch on the digimon's underbelly unprotected by the armor.   
"There!" he yelled out. "Attack!"   
Kentarumon outreached his right hand and aimed the now-emerging gun barrel at the lone unprotected spot. "Hunting Cannon!"   
A ball of golden light shot out of the centaur's hand, flying straight for the white patch of natural scales. An explosion rocked the dragon's body, forcing him to crash into the ocean. Now in the water, the remaining electrical energy from the attack scoured over the length of Metal Seadramon's serpentine form, sending heavy smoke from the burning ocean into the air.   
"I guess we did it, then," Buck muttered excitedly, patting Kentarumon's shoulders in encouragement.   
The centaur, though, stared off at the still ocean, his mind seemingly far away. "I doubt it," he whispered, keeping his armed hand at the ready. "Just a strange feeling...."   
"Buck! WATCH OUT!!"   
Buck and Kentarumon turned in the direction of the sound: It was Parker, running towards them with Kabuterimon flying slowly behind.   
"The dragon's rising out of the water again, and he's going to attack!" the chrononaut cried out. "Get out of the way!"   
Buck and Kentarumon turned back to face the ocean - sure enough, Metal Seadramon had lunged out of the water, his glowing snout a telltale sign he was about to fire his special attack.   
"You thought you could stop me, Chosen Children?" the dragon roared, spittle thrown out of his mouth in giant globules. "Ultimate Stream!!"   
The beam of shining blue light inched closer towards the defenseless men, who gaped at it in disbelief. Buck roughly slid off Kentarumon's back onto the rocks and stared upward - if there was a god in the world, now would be the time for him to intervene, he thought desperately as he mumbled a string of nonsensical words....   
Then the Holy Ring on his hand started to glow with a golden light.   
"Holy Mother of God," he whispered, holding the ring to his eyes. The Digital Hieroglyphs engraved on the ring were now clear, rearranging themselves into their Engish equivalent. Buck recited them in a hushed whisper as the blue light of Metal Seadramon's attack threatened to engulf him and his partner.   
"Seijin no dai-tenshi no Michael wa, tatakai ni mamoru...."   
With the recitation of those words, the D3 hidden in Buck's hands shined with a blinding golden light. Buck looked up from the ring, and saw that Kentarumon was shrouded in a golden aura as well.   
"Kentarumon, super-evolve! Knightmon!!"   
A heavy suit of armor, with a broad sword held in his right hand, materialized before Buck where Kentarumon once stood. Immediately the knight reached behind him and armed a giant shield engraved with a golden medallion on his free arm. He brought the shield before him, deflecting the force of Metal Seadramon's attack only mere seconds before it would have hit his body.   
Moments later the blue light died down, and the armored digimon lowered his shield. He turned his helm-shielded head towards Buck, and seemed to gaze at him sternly.   
"Are you alright, Buck?" he asked in a gruff voice.   
Buck brought himself to his feet warily. "I'd guess so." He looked down at his hand, and saw the Holy Ring still glowing with its golden light.   
"Now I shall finish off this demon," Knightmon rumbled, turning towards Metal Seadramon and bringing his sword to a ready position before his body. The sword in his hands shone with a blue light, illuminating the Digital Hieroglyphs that Buck could make out as "Berserk Sword" that decorated the blade itself.   
Parker took out his D3 and pressed one of the buttons, displaying Knightmon's data on the screen. "Hmm ... a Perfect-level - whatever that is ... and his special attack is Berserk Sword." He pocketed the D3 and looked at the new digimon as his own partner reverted back to Tentomon. "This could prove interesting."   
"Well, Knightmon's sword is known to be formidable against dramon-type digimon," Tentomon stated matter-of-factly. "It's made of the legendary metal Mithreal."   
Parker looked down at his partner with a sarcastic look in his eyes. "Isn't that the legendary metal from Lord of the Rings?"   
Now it was Tentomon's turn to look at Parker strangely; but there was no reason to continue the argument, now that Knightmon was about to attack.   
The armored digimon leaped high into the air before Metal Seadramon's head, his shining blade now held over his head. In a swift movement he brought down his arms, the sword's path illuminated in blue.   
"Berserk ... Sword!"   
Metal Seadramon was about to aim his snout at Knightmon, but the Perfect-level digimon thrust the giant sword down the dragon's mouth. Without even a final gurgle the Dark Master of the Ocean disintegrated in a flash of golden bits of data.   
"You ... you did it!" Buck whooped, jumping into the air as Knightmon reverted to Elecmon and fell into his arms. The Holy Ring on Buck's hand had stopped glowing now, the strange words in Digital Hieroglyphs again heavily eroded away.   
"That was fun," Elecmon smiled, snuggling into Buck's chest. "I want to do that again."   
"Well, we'll see," Buck sighed, turning to face Parker and Tentomon. "So, where to next?"   
Parker shrugged. "My guess is to head back home ... but we escaped from here with the Guardian's help. Buck...."   
But the journalist had already surmised what Parker was suggesting. He set Elecmon on the rocks and took out the Tag from behind his shirt. He held it pensively in his hands, looking down at the stylized question mark engraved upon it.   
"Frank ... I don't want to do that," he whispered without look up into Parker's face. "You don't know what it's like ... having another mind in you, controlling what you do and say ... and the pain! You saw what happened to me - I transformed into that ... that monster!" He forced his head towards Parker, tears rising to his eyes in his fury. "And I had no control over what he did! If I had a chance, Frank, I would have defended that Stone with my very life - it would still be standing if I had some say in how the battle had gone! None of this would have happened, Frank: the Conundrum, the disappearances, everything....   
"But no ... we're stuck here ... and there's no chance of undoing it ... even that time machine of yours, Frank...."   
There was no containing the tears now. Buck crumpled to his knees and buried his face in his hands, afraid to let the military-bred Parker see his shame as the world before him turned dark.... 

_Francis ... I have come to take you to the Center again...._   
Buck turned his head around, striving to find the source of the echoing words. It sounded so much like the Guardian, the warden of the gates to the Golden Land....   
"Where are you?" he called out, but his words were little more than a whisper.   
Then, there was Parker's voice: "Buck? Are you all right?"   
Buck wanted to call out in response; even his mouth was voicing out the words; but instead the Guardian's voice sounded in the darkness.   
_Cameron is all right, Francis; there is nothing to worry about. Now come with me, and the digimon, as well ... the four of you are to return home...._   
Buck could feel someone grasp his right hand - Parker, no doubt - but why wasn't the chrononaut standing beside him? This must all be some sick dream, Buck thought desperately, trying to find something, someone in the vast darkness that surrounded him.   
But all he could find was himself, suspended in an ivory orb of light with digital data encircling it. All he wore was the chain on which the Crest of Truth was suspended upon, his only protection from the shadow of forgetfulness.... 

"Buck! Buck, wake up!"   
Slowly Buck opened his eyes, finding Parker looking down at him, worried. He was about to ask what had happened, but familiar words echoed in his mind ... _the four of you are to return home...._   
"We're at NNL again, then?" Buck finally managed, bringing himself up to a sitting position. Elecmon crawled onto his lap and sat up.   
"Not unless a giant botanical garden has something to do with time travel," the digimon replied, pointing at something with a stubby claw.   
Buck, puzzled, turned to where Elecmon was pointing. Instead of the golden halls of the Center were flowering sprouts of every sort of beautiful flora ever created. The bubbling of a creek could be heard nearby, and a light mist hung in the air.   
"Is this ... the Golden Land?" Buck asked, turning towards Parker.   
The man shrugged. "Who knows? Now come on, we have to find our way home." He stood and walked off, but soon stopped in his tracks.   
"You hear that, Buck?" he whispered, cocking his head to the side.   
Buck shook his head. "What?"   
A metallic clanging, like steel meeting steel, could be faintly heard in the distance. "That." Another clang. "There it is again. I wonder what that is."   
Buck lay back down, his body welcoming the soft grass beneath him. He stared up at the vibrant sapphire sky, watching a black shadow and a white speck of light bouncing playfully above. Every time they met, a metallic clang could be heard ringing clear across the garden.   
Then the features of the two shadows soon sharpened in Buck's vision, and the man jumped to his feet in his realization.   
"It's Black War Greymon and the Guardian," he whispered. He looked towards the sky again, watching the shadows dodging each other again. "They're fighting...." 

{'Til the End of the World, credits, and ending animation plays....} 


	18. By the Waters of Babylon

{The quote below is from the King James version of the Bible. And even though I came up with the 'human/digimon fusion' many months ago, future readers may belive I got it from the yet-to-be-released Digimon Frontier or from Digimon Tamers. George Lucas owns Star Wars, and some cereal company owns Shredded Wheat. And copy/paste the other disclaimers here.} 

[VERSION UP and starting animation plays....] 

Backstep 12   
By the Waters of Babylon 

_"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not…."_ Revelation 12: 7-8

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Owsley's room, Steele residence, Mount Prospect, Illinois, USA   
Time - seventeen days into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Owsley's eyes caught notice of the computer screen as he was chatting with Chloe. He plopped down into a chair and turned to face the screen.   
"What is it?" Chloe asked, bending over Owsley's shoulders. "Something interesting?"   
"It's the streaming feed from Parker's D3," the nerd explained simply. "It's back on normal speed again." He pressed a button, enlarging the video window so it filled the computer screen. "It looks like he's in a garden. And Buck's there, and their partners - hey, what's with those two dots in the sky?"   
"Let me see that," Chloe said, pushing Owsley aside. She pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, selecting the two shadows and enlarging them four times their original size.   
"Hey, that's enough magnification," Owsley scolded, regaining control of the computer. He pointed a finger at the lighter of the shadows, which now showed clearly as a robed angel with a gleaming sword. "That guy - he's the Guardian," Owsley mused, now drawing his attention to the other shadow. "And this one … oh no…."   
"What?" Chloe asked, looking at Owsley, puzzled.   
Owsley turned to Chloe, worry etched on his face. "It's Black War Greymon." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - unknown   
Time - unknown   
------------------------------------------------- 

"You've gotta be kidding me, Buck," Parker scoffed, turning back to face the dazed journalist. "You're probably still out of it - those shadows must be dragonflies or something."   
"I'm not possessed now!" Buck exclaimed. "I swear, I saw the Guardian and Black War Greymon fighting up there!"   
"Yeah, sure," Parker laughed. "Come on, Buck - the pressing matter is that we have to get back to NNL, undo all this, and hope that we lead normal lives after that. Let's go." He and Tentomon walked off into the garden, towards the sound of the bubbling brook.   
"You know, Buck," Elecmon said, jumping into Buck's hands, "maybe you were just seeing things. I mean, with everything that's happened to you-"   
"Like being attacked by a mummy, being sent to the Digital World, and getting possessed by an angel wasn't enough," Buck grumbled. "Look, Elecmon, I know that I attract a lot of trouble, but that's my line of work." He sighed. "I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, after all."   
"Is getting stitches during every major story customary for you?"   
Buck chuckled. "Come to think of it, no." 

The bubbling brook that Buck heard upon entering the garden turned out to be a wide, running river filled with crystal-blue water. Smooth pebbles could be seen at the bottom of the river, a sign that it was quite shallow. By the edge of the water was a wooden signpost with words in Digital Hieroglyphs.   
"Let me guess, Buck," Parker started, "it says 'Keep off the Grass'."   
Buck walked to the sign and shook his head. "No, but you're close. It says, 'Let not a body of darkness set foot in the Waters of Life which flow from the Golden Land.'"   
"The Golden Land," Parker mused. "You know, if we get back there, we could find our way back home!"   
Buck nodded. "Sounds like a good idea." He turned opposite the river's flow, hoping to find its source. Off in the distance was a cloud of mist at the base of a roaring waterfall, almost a mile away. "Maybe it's behind that waterfall over there."   
"Yeah, but it's rather far away," Elecmon grumbled. "We need to get there, fast."   
"All right." Buck dug in his pockets for his D3 and pointed it at Elecmon; Parker took out his own and shoved it towards Tentomon.   
"Digimental Up!" they called out in unison.   
"Elecmon, evolve! Mysterious truth, Kyuubimon!"   
"Tentomon, evolve! Flying time, Scarabmon!"   
The two men jumped onto their respective partners' backs and sped off towards the mist that would hopefully lead them home. 

As the two Chosen Children were speeding off towards the waterfall, two digimon enshrouded in auras of either black or white were dueling amongst each other. First seen by Buck upon entering the garden, then by Owsley and Chloe through Parker's D3, the digimon had moved their aerial battle from over the dense garden to the sky above the great river.   
"You know this is not your domain, Guardian," the creature in the black aura growled, warding away his opponent's sword thrusts with his metal-encased claws. "The Supreme Deity confined you to the Golden Land - you should not have chased me here to 'edhen, protectorate of one of the Archangels."   
"Deus Absconditus gave me leave to the garden, Black War Greymon," the Guardian rasped, signs of his battle in the Digital World in another form showing as vividly as ever. "And the Archangel of this land only protects the Eastern Gate."   
Black War Greymon almost smiled from behind his heavy armor. Looking down at the waters below, he could see two humans and their digimon partners running off towards the waterfall that hid the gate he sought. 

Scarabmon and Kyuubimon, with Parker and Buck on their backs, balanced themselves on rocks that were situated before the great waterfall at the far end of the garden. Parker slid off Scarabmon's back and pulled out his D3, scanning the map grid.   
"It seems there's a secret room behind the waterfall," the chrononaut said after a short while, turning to face Buck. "The D3 senses a digimon behind it."   
"I smell it, too," Kyuubimon said, cocking his head towards Parker. "It has the same scent as … the Guardian."   
"Could it be the second one?" Buck asked, bending down close to his partner's head. "Tentomon did mention something about another a few days ago."   
Kyuubimon sniffed the air again. "No … it's a little stronger, like one of the higher-ranking angels of the Supreme Deity's court, like … one of the Archangels."   
"Archangels, like Michael and Gabriel?" Parker asked, feeling smug. Being raised in a church orphanage and memorizing all the saints under threat of being hit by rulers had finally paid off. "Or are they more digimon?"   
"The names you mentioned are unfamiliar, with exception of in that poem you got in your e-mail," Kyuubimon replied. "But nobody knows if they're digimon or not. The last time they were seen was sixteen years ago, according to time in your world."   
"Everything always seems to happen sixteen years ago," Buck and Parker groaned in unison.   
The digimon seemed to ignore the men's complaint. "I suggest we talk to this Archangel," Scarabmon buzzed, "and maybe he'll tell us how to get out of here."   
"Or even better yet, where the hell we are," Parker grumbled. He was about to jump back onto his partner's back when his D3 started to beep. "Now what?" he groaned as he pressed one of the device's two buttons.   
"FRANK! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"   
Parker couldn't believe his ears, or his eyes. Andrew Owsley and a young college student-aged girl were crammed on the small D3 screen.   
"Buck, turn on your D3!" Parker hissed to the journalist. "It's Owsley!" Then turning his attention back to the screen he said: "Owls! Why the hell didn't you answer my calls?"   
"Time's been thrown out of whack," Owsley stated, though glee could be seen flickering in his eyes. "It seems that only a few hours passed in the Digital World while almost a month passed out here. At least you're safe, but the question is, where were you when the Trumpet sounded?"   
Parker was puzzled - a month had passed on Earth? How could that be? Time between his home, the Digital World, and the Dark Ocean had always flowed at the same pace - could the blowing of the Trumpet of Hope have changed it, just like being in the Center suspended individuals in a different time-frame?   
"We were sent to the Golden Land," Buck responded while Parker was still in his reverie. "But then the Guardian kicked us out - he said we had to find two other 'Chosen Children': a Tsion Ben-Judah and a Chloe Steele-"   
"Me?" the girl behind Owsley exclaimed, shocked. "You two were looking for me?"   
Buck and Parker turned their heads at each other, their blank expressions mirror images of each other. "Who's she?" they asked in unison.   
"I'm Chloe Steele," the girl said, shoving Owsley roughly out of her way. She pulled out a Tag from beneath her shirt. "I'm a Chosen Child, too. Why would you two need to find me?"   
Parker shrugged. "Well, the Guardian told us that us and one other had to get together to fight an old enemy. The problem is, I don't know who."   
"Same here," Buck and Chloe responded more or less in unison.   
Owsley pushed himself back before the screen, shoving Chloe out of the picture. "I've already got Chloe up to date with what you've been doing," he said. "We just need you to get back home so we could find a way to pull through the next seven years."   
Parker was taken aback by the young scientist's words. "What about … you know…." He winked at Owsley - there was no way he was going to mention the Sphere in Chloe's presence.   
"Frank," Owsley replied, his face drawn out, "that's one of the things we have to talk to you about - in private, of course."   
"Oh." Must be another modification with the Sphere, Parker thought gloomily. "Well, Hooter, could you tell us where the hell we are before we return?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.   
Owsley seemed to press a few buttons before he came with his answer. "Frank, Buck, you guys are in … 'edhen." He pronounced 'edhen as Eden.   
"'edhen?" Buck scoffed.   
"That's what it says here, Buck," Owsley stated. "And according to the map, there's two digimon above you and one straight ahead."   
Kyuubimon raised his head to the sky. "It's those two digimon we you saw battling when we got here," he growled.   
"What else is in front of us?" Parker asked.   
"Well … my computer is picking up … a TV," Owsley replied, seemingly unsure of himself.   
"A TV … like those we used to travel to and from the Digital World!" Buck exclaimed. "That sign was right! These waters did come from the Golden Land - if not another world - and we could hopefully take the portal home!"   
"Then what are we waiting for?" Parker asked excitedly. "Andrew, we're coming home! Parker out." He pressed a button on the D3 and shoved it into his pocket before climbing onto Scarabmon's back. "Let's go!"   
Without a second glance back at the beautiful garden, the Chosen Children and their partners sped off towards the waterfall, breaking through the mist…. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - unknown   
Time - suspended   
------------------------------------------------- 

… And found themselves at the edge of a gigantic blue expanse.   
"Where are we?" Buck asked, jumping off Kyuubimon. The two armored digimon reverted back to Elecmon and Tentomon, the digimental armor streaming back to their respective D3s.   
The blue space seemed to be flowing, like water over the stones on a riverbed, cascading down the walls of the place, shining its crystalline aquamarine light upon the two men and their partners. A floating island encircled by arches was in the center, with a bridge of silver extending out towards the men's feet.   
Parker took out his D3 and pressed a button. "I hope Owsley has something about this place," he mumbled. Instead, he found Owsley and Chloe's faces staring back at him, frozen in mid-word.   
"Oh, shoot," he cursed, shoving the device back into his pants pocket. "This can't be good."   
"You can't raise him again, can you?" Buck asked, brushing his hair from his face.   
Parker nodded. "Guess the only way out is across the bridge. Come on."   
The bridge was little more than a causeway, large enough for the two men to walk single file to the center. Parker went first, Tentomon hovering by his side; Buck and Elecmon followed a little after them.   
"Looks like a long drop below us," Elecmon grumbled, looking down at the space that extended beneath the bridge. The blue liquid-like walls of the place even continued down below, seeming to go on to infinity.   
"Thanks for telling us," Buck and Parker moaned sarcastically. "We feel much safer now."   
Five minutes later, the Chosen Children arrived at the island in the center of the expanse. Once Elecmon had scurried into Buck's arms after jumping off the bridge, the silver causeway retracted into the bowels of the isle, signaling its disappearance with a soft thud.   
"Shoot. We're trapped here," Parker cursed, looking around the island. The arches that surrounded the isle on the perimeter were engraved with strange characters, neither in English or Digital Hieroglyphs.   
"Well, maybe these arches are portals to other worlds, just like in the Center," Buck mused.   
"You have surmised correctly, Cameron Williams."   
Buck turned around at the sound. It was a female voice, like something he had heard in the past…. "Who's that?" he asked, taking a glance at Parker.   
"I am Ophanimon, the Archangel who presides over the Eastern Gate," the strange voice answered him.   
Parker dragged Buck so the journalist could look in the same direction as he. Now they could see the mysterious digimon that had spoken to them.   
She was an angel, more flamboyantly decorated than Angemon or even the Guardian. Like the other angel digimon the Chosen Children had encountered, her eyes were shielded by a turquoise helm decorated with gold and precious jewels. Standing at a height of ten feet, she towered like a mountain over the men. Armor of a dark turquoise covered her breast, exposing her chest before tapering down to shield her silk-girt legs. Gold shaped in curled designs embellished her armor and the helm she wore upon her head. Her violet hair clashed with the fiery red mane that budded from the top of her helm. In one gauntleted hand she carried a tall lance, the handgrip shielded by a ring flanked with wings; a winged shield with a unicorn's face was on the other, the deadly horn pointing out towards Buck. Four pairs of stationary golden wings flanked her form, all seemingly made out of sheets of the strongest metal; a fifth pair framed her armor-covered skirt, but this set was of golden feathers.   
"And you must be Francis Bartholomew Parker," the Archangel continued, directing herself towards Parker.   
"Bartholomew?" Buck, Tentomon, and Elecmon exclaimed, shocked.   
"I legally shortened it to 'B'," Parker said, narrowing his eyes. Then, back to Ophanimon, "So, you guard this … Eastern Gate?"   
"That is correct, Francis," she replied simply.   
"Then you could take us back home again?" Buck asked.   
The angel shook her head. "Not until the Guardian returns from 'edhen."   
Buck and Parker stared at the digimon, their mouths gaping. "What?" they cried out incredulously.   
"You did see him fight the dragon in the garden, did you not?" Ophanimon asked, cocking her head down at the men.   
Buck nodded. "Yeah. So, how much longer?"   
The Archangel seemed to look out beyond the two men, towards the spot in the fluid walls where they had entered the Eastern Gate. She gnawed at her lip before giving her grave response minutes later.   
"They are almost at the Gate, the two of them," she whispered. "The Guardian is loosing his strength again…." A sigh. "I knew Deus should not have allowed him to let him pass through the Gate! I know it is his duty to protect the Golden Land, but that is his domain - 'edhen is mine…."   
The Crest of Truth that hung from Buck's neck started to glow, giving a white tinge to the blue-lighted space. Frightened, Buck clasped his arms over the Tag and closed his eyes - _I don't want it to happen again_, he thought frantically.   
Ophanimon knelt down and put a hand gently on Buck's shoulder, looking at the man with a motherly smile upon her face. "What is it, my little explorer?" she cooed, lifting Buck's face up with her free hand.   
Buck stared up into the Archangel's shielded face, shocked. He had only been called by such a pet name when he was a child, still in elementary school! His mother had always greeted him as such … before what had happened on his seventh birthday…. 

_"Mommy! I'm back from school!"   
"Oh, good afternoon Cameron. How was your day, my little explorer?"   
That was how it went every day after school for six-year-old Cameron Williams, a young, fair-haired boy who lived in a small town near Oklahoma City. He had an older sibling, a brother named Jeff, who was in the fifth grade. Despite being the youngest, Cameron was smothered in the love of his mother, a tall, violet-haired woman.   
"My day was fine, Mommy," Cameron replied, caught up in his mother's embrace. "Except that Samuel called me Candid Cameron again. Mommy, why do people call me names?"   
His mother laughed. "It is because you are so curious, Cam," she answered, tickling her son's arms. Cameron burst into giggles that filled the autumn air with sweet peals like those of bells. "Besides, you are to be called names even when you are older," she continued. "I can see you as an adult, at a very high position in your occupation, and everyone will call you …oh, let me see … oh, yes! They will call you Buck!"   
"Buck?" Cameron replied, smirking like the child he was. "What kind of name is that?" _

That was the last time Cameron saw his mother.   
Mrs. Williams was known to lock herself in her husband's study, reportedly making phone calls to her business partners. Not even Cameron's father knew what kind of business his wife was in, it was so secret. But then, Mr. Williams was out of town often, driving trucks with tanks of propane down to Texas and back.   
The day after his mother foretold his future nickname was Cameron's seventh birthday. He had woken up early to strains of 'Happy Birthday' from his father and Jeff, along with barrages of Star Wars action figures - the movie had been released the previous summer.   
"Daddy, where's Mommy?" Cameron asked as he poured himself some Shredded Wheat. "She usually wakes me up on my birthday."   
"She's in the study again, Cameron," his father grumbled, sipping at his dark coffee. "She'll be out when you get back from school."   
Cameron made a face - he hated it when his mother locked herself in.   
School was a modest affair that day: more Star Wars action figures, a few cards, some candies from the lunch ladies. The teachers eased off on the homework so that Cameron wouldn't ask why he got so much on so special a day.   
The house seemed empty when Cameron returned a few minutes after noon. Jeff was still at school, and his father had already left for Dallas, but his mother never left the house except for shopping.   
"Mommy?" he called out, setting down his action figure-laden rucksack on the floor by the door. "Where are you?" Remembering what his father had told him, Cameron padded over to the study down the hall.   
Strangely, the door was open a crack, the noon light slanting onto Cameron's face.   
"Mommy?" he asked, slipping through the door. He had never been in the study before.   
The door opened out to a cozy room, with an armchair, fireplace, and a desk with a telephone and computer. There was no sign of life in the room, save for Cameron.   
A note was taped to the chair, at a low enough level for Cameron to reach. He grasped the note and read it out loud. 

Cameron -   
Seek the truth   
- Mommy 

Cameron's father had told him in later days that his mother had died of a heart attack, but something in that small note made him doubt that. Yet as the days turned to years, he received no sign of his mother, and he started to believe his father's story. But something always nagged inside him - what truth did his mother want him to find? 

Buck closed his eyes again, shoving the memory from his mind. But how could this digimon know his late mother's pet name? Maybe she can read my mind, Buck told himself, or it's just a coincidence - I hope.   
"It's nothing," Buck replied at last. "I just want to go home."   
The Archangel nodded, then rose to her full height again. "I know that the two of you must return home, but you must wait until the Guardian returns," she answered. Then, looking back at Buck, she said, "You can do me a favor, Cameron."   
Great - she knows, the journalist thought in disgust, lowering his hands to his side. "What is it?" he asked, clearly not in the best of moods.   
"You and Francis can go fetch the Guardian while I guard the Eastern Gate," she explained. "I do not wish to leave the Gate unattended … and yet I fear that the Guardian is in great danger."   
"Isn't he always?" Parker and Buck mumbled.   
"I will open the gate to 'edhen," Ophanimon continued. "I cannot leave it open for long - I fear the beast the Guardian faces will find a way to the Golden Land." She turned her back to the Chosen Children and thrust her lance into the space within the arch. A window, much like the ones that surrounded the Center, opened out to the clear sapphire river beyond, where two great creatures - a sword-bearing angel and a black armored dragon - clashed in the water.   
"You were right, Buck," Parker gasped in awe as Ophanimon backed away from the gate. "Those two digimon were fighting."   
"You do not have much time, Chosen Children," the Archangel urged, herding Parker and the digimon towards the gate. "Go in haste - I will help you return home after your task!"   
Parker let Elecmon and Tentomon pass through the gate (which rippled as they traversed it), but strayed behind to wait for Buck. "Come on, you heard her!" he called out. "We've got to go!"   
"Go ahead," Buck replied calmly; "wait for me outside."   
Parker shrugged and leaped through the gate, leaving the image of 'edhen rippling like the surface of disturbed water.   
Ophanimon looked down at Buck, a questioning look upon her lips. "Why do you stay behind, Cameron?" she asked, walking towards the man. "Are you still troubled?"   
I hate how she reads my mind, Buck grumbled inwardly. "Ophanimon," he started, "I just have a few questions - they've been bugging me for years."   
"I see," the Archangel responded. "Do they concern your mother?"   
Buck sighed. "Yeah."   
"I can tell you that your mother is alive and well, Cameron," she said, putting a hand on Buck's shoulder. "She did not want you to know, though, where she is."   
She's alive? Buck repeated in his head. And Dad had a funeral, and burial, everything … was this the truth I was searching for?   
"You still have yet to find what your mother told you to seek," Ophanimon continued - obviously she had read Buck's thoughts again. "In due time you will. But haste is what is important, Cameron - I must close the gate now."   
Buck nodded. "Thank you, Archangel," he whispered as he turned and leaped through the gate.   
The last words he heard were of the angel: _The Crest will show you the way…._

-------------------------------------------------   
Location: 'edhen   
Time: seventeen days into Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck found himself at the edge of the river, the waterfall to his right. Parker and the digimon - he could tell that Tentomon had evolved to Kabuterimon - were on the other bank, but they were staring back at him with solemn eyes. What had happened while he strayed behind at the Eastern Gate? Where was that battle he had seen between the Guardian and Black War Greymon only seconds ago?   
"Cameron…."   
A strained, familiar voice called out to Buck's left. He turned, finding the flowing river, the verdant tropical vegetation, the fallen angel lying by the rocks lining the river-   
"The Guardian?" Buck gasped, shocked, picking his way to the angel's side. The digimon looked much worse than when Buck had last seen him: His robes were torn to mere shreds, exposing the pale, bloodied frame beneath, and his helm was cracked enough to give Buck a view of the shielded face that looked so much like his own. The hand closest to Buck quivered, rising tediously to grasp Buck's own with a strangely firm clasp.   
"My host … wants to return to the Golden Land … to his partner," the Guardian moaned, staring into Buck's eyes. "I need you, Cameron … Black War Greymon still lives … I lost him in the garden … help me fight him…."   
Buck shook his head in defiant refusal. "I won't do it!" he nearly screeched, looking back at Parker and the others. "Let Frank find him, then finish him off! I'm not going to let you take control of me again!"   
"Buck, maybe you should think this over-" Parker called out from the other bank, splashing his way to Buck; but the journalist yelled over him with a furious reply.   
"Shut up, Frank! You don't know what it's like! I'm not doing it!"   
"- But that dragon's coming down with a glowing claw straight at you!" Parker finished, barely drowned out by the rush of air and Buck's tearful cries.   
"I don't care!" Buck roared as Parker climbed up to Buck's side. "I'd rather die than be possessed again by that-"   
Before he could finish, Black War Greymon barreled down to the earth, glowing steel claws aimed for Buck's chest. Parker shoved Buck out of the way seconds before the dragon plunged his claws into the wounded Guardian's heart. Light filled the garden, blinding the men momentarily. A harsh wind blew past, and aftereffect of the strike perhaps.   
When the light finally died down moments later, Black War Greymon was floating over the river, chuckling evilly at the digimon on the banks fading from existence.   
Buck crawled out from under Parker, towards the digimon lying in state. He could tell it wasn't the Guardian - it was Angemon, in a considerably more miserable state than the Guardian had been. His helm did not cover his face - in fact, he still wasn't wearing it … it was like he had been in the Guardian's form since the last Holy Stone had been destroyed. The angel was muttering in English, sometimes switching between Japanese and another language that Buck didn't understand. He turned his face towards Buck, and weakly took the journalist's hands into one of his.   
"Takeru … he told me the truth at the ramen place … and he didn't even know," he muttered deliriously, with his blank ivory eyes boring into Buck's very being. "You know what to do … Cameron…."   
Cameron? Buck thought, puzzled. None of the Japanese kids' digimon ever called me that!   
Those were the last things he thought before the light of the Crest of Truth enveloped him in brightness…. 

"You are a persistent opponent, aren't you?"   
Black War Greymon's croons awoke Buck with a jolt.   
The man found himself again in an orb of blue light, the only illumination in a vast space of darkness. He clutched the shining Crest of Truth around his neck - it was all he wore in the expanse. Feeling a chill across his body, Buck brought his arms about himself, a desperate attempt to keep warm.   
"Where am I?" Buck whispered, turning his head to left and right frantically. "Why am I here?"   
_You are one with me_, the Guardian's voice echoed through the darkness, flooding warmth through the human. _The Crest of Truth gives me the ability to fuse with you, and the Holy Ring allows you to remain aware of yourself while you are in my form … it allows you to do as you wish with my body._   
"So now … I can defeat Black War Greymon," Buck mused, unwrapping his arms from his body. "Tell me how."   
_I will do as you command, Cameron_, the Guardian replied, yet his voice had a reluctant undertone. _I will move as you move, and say as you say. You are my general, and I am but your army._   
Buck nodded. "Alright."   
A rush of sensory perception crashed over Buck; he knew he was still confined in that orb of light, yet at the same time he felt himself in 'edhen. An almost translucent vision of Black War Greymon popped up before Buck's eyes; with every movement of his head, he could see the rest of the garden. Buck could feel water flow over his feet, smell the fragrance of the tropical flowers, taste the metallic tinge of darkness upon his tongue.   
He turned back towards the bank, seeing Parker gaping up in awe at him. Angemon had vanished - blue glimmers of digital data were streaming out towards the Eastern Gate.   
"Buck?" Parker called out, seemingly worried. "Are you okay?"   
_Do not answer him_, the Guardian's voice echoed to Buck; _your duty is the dragon._   
Buck regretfully faced Black War Greymon again, giving a game smirk as he pulled a feather from one of his wings. A tingling sensation ran over his hands as the unseen feather transformed into the gleaming Omega Blade.   
"I will send you to the darkness from which you were born of!" Buck cried out, pointing the tip of the Omega Blade at the dragon.   
"Go ahead," Black War Greymon chuckled, leaping into the air in a black flicker. "Try to find me first."   
"Shoot - he's flown off," Buck cursed, extending his wings and taking to the sky. He glanced around, finding only Parker, Kabuterimon, Elecmon, and the rest of the garden. Dark flickers of light danced across the sky, showing Black War Greymon's path across the air.   
"Dramon Killer!"   
A golden flash of light shot out towards Buck, causing him to leap into the air above his path. Black War Greymon halted a few feet from Buck's original position, turning swiftly to face his opponent.   
"Gaah! I'll get you!" the dragon roared, pointing his claws out at Buck. He shot into the air, prepared to plunge the cold iron into Buck's chest.   
Buck hadn't handled a sword in his college days, when he was a member of Princeton's fencing club. He had joined for only a year - journalistic studies and a lack of skill had forced him to drop. Now he hoped whatever he remembered would help. He swung the Omega Blade in an arc before Black War Greymon, striking his clawed hands and forcing him almost into the river.   
_He is disoriented, Cameron_, the Guardian whispered to Buck; _do a special attack and finish him._   
"I want to fly down above him immediately before I do that," Buck whispered - how was he going to dive down and attack at the same time? A journalist wasn't expected to do this on the job.   
Complying with his request, the Guardian willed Buck into a frenzied dive, halting him thirty feet above Black War Greymon. It was an exhilarating experience for Buck, feeling the air blow about his hair and over his body - but there was little time to enjoy it: the Guardian's voice echoed back to him now.   
_Raise the Omega Blade over your head, point down, and say 'I shall banish your soul to the Western Gate' as you plunge it downwards._   
Buck nodded, effortlessly pulling the gleaming Omega Blade into position. Black War Greymon was still dazed, his back turned to Buck as he struggled to regain himself. The Digital Hieroglyphs on the sword glowed crimson as Buck cried out the words the Guardian had taught him.   
"I shall banish your soul … to the Western Gate!"   
Buck thrust down the Omega Blade with all his strength, watching the crimson light seem to engulf Black War Greymon's body - no, the entire garden….   
And then a strained gasp as he felt three metal blades pierce through his chest.   
Buck looked down in the fading, light, and saw Black War Greymon directly below him, one of his claws thrust into Buck's chest. The dragon looked haggard, and Buck could immediately see why.   
The Omega Blade had been forced down between Black War Greymon's eyes.   
"It's too late … Cameron Williams," Black War Greymon grumbled weakly, disintegrating into digital data with a crackling burst of black light.   
Buck could feel the claws remove themselves from the wounds. A cold shock ran through him - the deep lacerations, so close to his heart, had even pierced open his back; he could feel the crimson blood flow over the back of his legs, sticking to his skin. He dropped the Omega Blade, watching it fall to the river below as he clutched his wounds tightly, futilely attempting to stop the bleeding.   
He couldn't sense the world outside the orb of light now, with the pain coursing through his body. The view of 'edhen vanished, leaving Buck to see the streaming blood cascade over his bare body. He was growing weak, both from the loss of blood and the sight of it.   
Then he was falling, his head pointed downwards towards the river thirty feet below. He could feel the wings upon his back painfully disintegrating, the Guardian releasing his hold as he returned to the Eastern Gate….   
Eyes wrenched tight in his torment, Buck wrenched out a scream that echoed across the garden as his bare, now-human form landed with a deep splash into the river. The liquid flowed over his body, entering his mouth, nose, and wounds….   
And then darkness. 

['Til the End of the World, ending animation, and credits play....] 

{HEY! The next Special Issue is coming out after the next chapter! This one will have the lyrics (but not the animation) for _'Til the End of the World_ and some of the image songs, along with another FAQ session and a complete cast of characters for the entire story - including the future parts! But until then, wait for the next exciting chapter of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM!} 


	19. Deus Absconditus

[you know the drill by now, so why should I bother? I don't own anything!] 

{VERSION UP and starting animation plays....} 

_Cameron … wake up … all is well now….   
Buck struggled to open his eyes - every fiber of his body ached, refusing to do as he wished. A bright light finally urged him to raise his eyelids, revealing the friendly face that beamed down at him. She looked so young, almost as he remembered her from twenty-four years in the past….   
"Mother?" he croaked, his tongue moving around dried blood in his mouth. "I … didn't expect you here…." He tried to move his head, take a glimpse of his surroundings, but was halted by his mother's kind words.   
"Stay still, Cameron," she whispered, taking Buck into her arms. Buck could feel her soft hands on his bare back, winced as she brought a wet cloth to the again-broken wounds there. "Your wounds were fatal … or would have been, if I had not found you."   
"So … I'm dead?" Buck managed, turning to look into his mother's face. "We're in the Golden Land?"   
Buck's mother shook his head before bringing the wet cloth to the wounds on her son's chest. "You will not see the Golden Land for years to come, Cameron," she replied with a smile; "and neither shall I."   
"But Frank, and the digimon - where are they?"   
The woman set down the cloth and lay Buck down again onto the cold ground. "The Guardian brought them to the Center - they're waiting for you there."   
Buck tried to nod in reply, but he started to feel stiff all over. "Thanks," he muttered, easing his eyes shut. "Mother," he then said after a while, "what was it that you wanted me to find all those years ago? You know, from that note you left behind."   
He could hear a small chuckle from his mother, just as he could remember from years bygone. "Cameron, did the Guardian sound the Trumpet of Hope?"   
Buck nodded.   
"Then you will learn the truth at the end of the Seven Year Darkness," came the soft reply as Buck fell into unconsciousness once again…._

Backstep 13   
Deus Absconditus 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - the Center   
Time - unknown   
------------------------------------------------- 

"Buck! Come on and wake up already!"   
Buck shot upright at Frank Parker's impatient shouting, not noticing until moments later the sharp pain that ran through his back. He turned about, finding the chrononaut and the two digimon crouching to his left, and the white-clad Guardian kneeling to his right. All of them seemed to have rather relived expressions on their faces.   
"What … what happened?" Buck asked, looking down at himself - he was wearing what he had worn at NNL the last time he had been there. "Did I miss something?"   
"We were afraid you were going to die!" Elecmon cried, leaping into Buck's arms. "You were terribly wounded by Black War Greymon - the Guardian had to find and heal you!"   
"Oh," Buck replied, looking up into the kneeling Guardian's shielded face. "Well … thanks," he sheepishly said, climbing laboriously to his feet.   
The Guardian just gave a nod of consent.   
"So, what now?" Buck asked, turning to face Parker. "Are we going home anytime soon?"   
"I hope so," Parker grumbled. He scanned the windows upon the perimeter of the Center: the doors to the Digital World and Earth were still the only ones open. The Earth portal was opened out to the Fuji Television headquarters in Tokyo, but this time the area around the strange building was scattered with the debris of burnt-out cars and other hunks of twisted metal.   
"Frank, are you really sure you want to go to Tokyo right now?" Tentomon called out. "It didn't seem like Owsley was at the Embassy."   
"We still have food at the American Embassy!" Parker exclaimed. "Remember what that Japanese kid - what's her name - oh, yeah, Miyako, gave us when we first met her?"   
"The guards probably ate it all up by now," Buck sighed. "Besides, if we're going to get home, we might as well wait until we see New York or some other American building in that portal." He sat himself down again by the Guardian's feet.   
"Yeah, that's true," Parker sighed resignedly, moving to Buck's side. He sat and looked up at the Guardian. "So, how much longer until that gate opens somewhere in America?"   
"I could return you to your friends if you so wished," the Guardian lowed, his voice somewhat weak. "But not now."   
Buck looked up at the Guardian, seemingly puzzled. "Why?"   
"The Archangel Ophanimon wanted me to tell you a tale," he replied, lowering himself further to be even with Parker and Buck. "She believed it would aid you for the next seven years."   
"Oh, yahoo," Parker cheered rather sarcastically. "Story-time by the campfire."   
The Guardian smirked - the first time he had done so - and finally lowered himself to a sitting position. "I am glad you are excited, Francis," he chuckled. "Now let me begin my tale…." 

Before the creation of Earth or the Digital World, there was only the Inner Sanctum of the Golden Land. In there lives a being who goes by many names. In your world, he is known by many as God; in the Digital World, the Supreme Deity or the Sovereign. His true name is Deus Absconditus.   
(Buck: That's _Unseen God_ in Latin!)   
Now, one day, the Supreme Deity chose to create humans, digimon, and the other creatures that roam your world. He created the world known as 'edhen to house them. But one day, the dragon, who used to be one of the three Archangels, brought strife to that land. In a final attempt to prevent war, the Deity created Earth and the Digital World - Earth to house humanity, the Digital World to be home to digimon.   
(Frank: What about that dragon?)   
(Guardian: He was sent to a different world: the Dark Ocean. Would you let me continue?)   
(Frank: Oh, sorry. Go ahead.)   
Ever since ancient times, there have been numerous portals between the Earth and Digital World. This is what accounts for sightings of what you humans call 'mythical creatures'. These ancient digimon were like gods to humankind, and man worshipped them … for a time.   
Perhaps a few years before what you call the Common Era, prophets came to tell of the coming of one known as the Faithful and True. They said he would be partly divine - which, in those days, meant half-digimon. People feared this: previous crosses between human and digimon had turned out bad.   
(Buck: Like what?)   
(Guardian: The minotaur on what you call Crete.)   
(Buck: Oh.)   
Years later, the second Guardian, who guards Time itself, came down to a woman in the ancient world. This woman was one of the Chosen, whom the Deity had selected to protect. But since this Guardian had come to this woman, she was now an Elect, selected from the Chosen to bear the Faithful and True one.   
The Faithful and True had an anticlimactic birth, and a troublesome life. He told of a time when humans and digimon would once again live in peace - but it would only come upon a great sacrifice.   
(Buck: What happened to this … Faithful and True one?)   
(Guardian: I was getting to that part.)   
The Faithful and True was put to death at a young age - but his death did not bring the peace he had told of. It instead sealed the Digital Gates that allowed humans and digimon free passage to each other's worlds. It created this place, which guards the Golden Land. And in creating the Center, the Faithful and True created _choice_.   
(Buck and Frank: Choice?)   
There are many portals in the Center because they each lead to a world in which different choices were made. There is one in which humans have had no contact with digimon since the sealing of the Digital Gates; in another, the Digital Gates were opened years after their sealing, and digimon can still pass freely.   
(Buck: But what else happened to the Faithful and True?)   
He did not remain dead. Being part divine, he was resurrected days later. I, Guardian of the Center and Deus' Chosen People, sent him to the Inner Sanctum after that. Years later, before the Faithful and True one's mother died, the second Guardian brought her to the Inner Sanctum and made her a digimon … one of the Archangels, to replace the Dragon.   
Centuries later, by time in your world, the dragon who had caused strife in 'edhen returned, this time with three other great demons. The Deity made the Archangel who was once human to return to Earth, to reincarnate the Faithful and True. After she finished her task, she returned to the Digital World - and was captured with the other Archangels by the dragon.   
So for the first time in millennia, the Supreme Deity selected five children - the Chosen Children - to rescue the Archangels. Unlike the Chosen People, the children had digimon partners.   
(Frank: Did they succeed?)   
(Guardian: You should know, Francis; you and Cameron were of that group.)   
(Frank and Buck: So that's what we did!)   
These children destroyed the dragon's minions and imprisoned the dragon in the Dark Ocean. After the children's victory, they returned to Earth - but their deeds had only paved the way for other children to protect the Digital World. 

"Thus ends my tale, Francis and Cameron," the Guardian concluded, bringing himself to his feet.   
"Did all of that really … happen?" Buck asked, slowly rising to his feet to ease off the pain in his back. "It sure wasn't in my history book."   
"Do you think ancient people wanted future generations to know about digimon?" the Guardian asked. "I think it would terrify them to know that we digimon do exist. Humans feared digimon, Cameron - they worshipped them instead of the Supreme Deity who created them!"   
"That makes sense," Parker scoffed, standing up. "So, could we go home now?"   
The Guardian nodded. "You may, Francis - but you must know that you cannot return to your team's headquarters in Nevada."   
He knows where Nevada is? Parker asked himself as he looked incredulously at the Guardian. "Yeah, right."   
"Francis … there are no computers in the facility you call Never-Never Land," the Guardian said sternly, looking down at Parker. "Your team moved out to Chicago."   
Parker laughed, turning to walk out to the gate that would lead back to Earth. "You've gotta be kidding me," he chuckled, Tentomon flying behind.   
The Guardian produced the Omega Blade and pointed it at the portal, and the imge changed to that from inside NNL. There were soldiers in the hangar before the Sphere - American, no doubt - bringing in weapons of all scopes: handguns, grenades, bombs … almost enough to fill two artillery storage units.   
"Your government has designated Never-Never Land to be the storage place for weapons during the Seven-Year Darkness," the Guardian continued, bringing down his sword. "The soldiers are there to protect what you call the Sphere from the demon that will rule your world."   
"Great," Parker cursed, turning on his heel to face the Guardian. "So what now?"   
"Actually," Buck interrupted, "I'd like to get some of my stuff from my apartment in Manhattan. I mean, with almost a month having passed on Earth, I guess I could get there, no problems at all."   
"Now that you mention it," Parker muttered, "I'd like to check on my ex-wife and son."   
"Where do they live?" Buck asked.   
"Arlington."   
"Then it is settled," the Guardian lowed, raising his sword again at the portal. This time the image changed to that of Capitol Hill, surrounded - like the Fuji TV headquarters in Tokyo - by the charred remains of motor vehicles. "You are free to go."   
Parker and Buck nodded in consent and ran out towards the gate, their digimon following behind. "Thank you!" they called out in unison before the shattering gate signaled their absence.   
The Guardian, exhausted, leaned on the railing of the dais, staring off at the portal ahead. Parker and Buck were running off through the road, hoping to find a taxi. Noting the lack of motor traffic, the Guardian knew they would not find one.   
Another shattering sound resounded through the Center, bringing the Guardian to attention. The being that had entered floated to the Guardian's side and laid low her weapon.   
"Ophanimon - what are you doing here?" the Guardian asked, shocked.   
"I came to thank you … for finding Cameron," the Archangel replied, a kind smile upon her lips. "I appreciate that."   
"It was a challenge, Archangel. He was already dead. I had to search the Golden Land for him. That was not a major task, but convincing him to return was trying."   
"Oh. How?"   
"He envisioned himself with his mother. Cameron spent more than half his life without her."   
Ophanimon sighed and bowed her head. "I know." She looked back at the Guardian again. "You know that you have to return to Earth soon. For Tsion."   
The Guardian nodded. "Yes. I know."   
"Alright." She turned and floated off the dais, her violet hair streaming behind her. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "Guardian, I have one last request for you."   
"What is it?"   
"Protect Cameron for me, would you? Cameron was Elected to be bound to you - protect him somehow, alright?"   
The Guardian nodded again. "I will." He sighed. "You know, you should have let me tell Cameron the identity of the Faithful and True one."   
"He has to learn that on his own, Guardian," Ophanimon whispered, the response echoing throughout the Center. Reaching a hand beneath her armor, she pulled out two sheets of paper. One was a note, the paper yellowed with age and the blue ink now bordering on translucent gray. All that was now legible were the words _seek the truth_.   
The other paper was a photograph, dated 1976 in the corner. It was in black and white, depicting a six-year-old Cameron Williams playing catch with his violet-haired mother.   
A tear emerged from beneath Ophanimon's helm, landing loudly on the photograph. Without hesitating to wipe it away, she tucked the papers beneath her armor again.   
"Cameron will find out eventually," she whispered at last, disappearing in a flash of blue light and a shattering noise to the Eastern Gate. 

{'Til the End of the World, ending credits and animation plays....} 

[I know, the past few chapters have been rather short by my standard. The next issue is the Special Issue, which will be another multi-parter! They are (in order): _'Til the End of the World_ (lyrics only), Frank Parker's image song, Cameron Williams' image song, Chloe Steele's image song, a new FAQ for parts 07-13, and the definite (but not final) cast of characters for the entire series - including characters that won't be introduced until MUCH later in the story! And, of course, I'll try to summarize the next few parts of the series - which Left Behind fans may already know to an extent.... So until next time, wait for the information-filled Special Issue of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM!] 


	20. Special Issue 03-A - 'Til the End of the...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - Part 1-7   
'Til the End of the World (Digital Conundrum ending theme 2)   
Ending Animation - no-credits version, TV-size 

[At last, I've found the lyrics to _'Til the End of the World_, but an MP3 has been nearly impossible to find! So far I've only heard the chorus and the last two lines of the first verse on a sample from a website, so I have some idea for the end of the animation. But until I actually get the full song, I won't be able to come up with it! So if anybody has the CD _A Different Man_ by Clay Crosse, please tell me so I could get a download of this song! Well, without further delay, here's the lyrics and whatever I could think up for the very end of the sequence....] 

'Til the End of the World   
_performed by Clay Crosse_

In a world where people come and go   
In a place where no one ever stays   
The greatest friend you'll ever know   
Is the one who will not walk away   
I could hold you with the strongest arms   
I could hear you in a silent prayer   
And I would feel your deepest scars   
I will stand beside you anywhere 

If you believe in me, I will be with you   
'Til the end of the world   
If you believe in me, I will be with you   
'Til the end of the world.... 

{(tentative) Like in the animation that went with _Days - Aijou to Nichijou -_ from _Digimon Tamers_, we see Frank, Buck, Chloe and Tsion looking out defiantly at (camera pans behind them) the crumbling remnant of the world. Then the camera faces them again, far enough to see their partners standing by their feet. The background fades out to show the Faithful and True standing behind them.} 

[So that's your new ending song - unless I find the full version to be not to my expectations.... Next up: Frank Parker's image song!] 


	21. Special Issue 03-B - No Fear music video

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 2-7   
No Fear (Frank Parker's image song)   
Performance Version - modified lyrics 

[Frank came up to me with this song when I started writing this fic. He claimed that it mentioned his favorite beverage. Unfortunately, when I finally found the lyrics, I had to break it to him that it didn't. So I modified the lyrics to suit Frank, and now he's sneaked off to NNL to record the song. So here is Frank Parker and the cast of Seven Days performing the song _No Fear_ by - you guessed it - Clay Crosse, the same guy who did the new ending theme.] 

* I must note - anything that is in parenthesis () in the lyrics is sung by the _Seven Days_ cast. * 

No Fear   
_originally recorded by Clay Crosse; remixed by Frank Parker_

{The stage lights up to show the hangar that houses the Sphere. Parker is standing by the computer equipment that surrounds it, and the rest of the cast is on the scaffolding that leads to the Sphere's hatch. Owsley and Ballard (he's an old school _Seven Days_ character) are at a computer doing the computerized sounds. A crowd of frenzied teenagers are at the foot of the stage.} 

Flipped on my TV   
Images come to me   
Looks like a world gone wrong   
Turned on my radio   
No, it's just another joe rock star just selling songs   
We've got a quick fix automation   
Another generation   
Excellent at falling down   
And a covetous inertia   
Know it's getting worse   
You know one day it's all gonna burn to the ground 

If the river don't flow   
And they all run dry   
And stars start falling from the sky   
Whatever   
(Happens to me it is well with my soul)   
Well, I have no fear   
Because I know   
That Parker rules   
He's in control   
Forever   
Forever   
Forever 

Street corner prophet   
Yeah, he's been talking   
About the end of time   
And I don't doubt it   
'Cause I've heard about it   
On a minidisk of mine   
They say we're in a desperate condition   
Pass the ammunition   
Got to keep yourself alive   
I say go protect your liver   
I'll go meet my maker   
I hold forever   
There's no way I'm gonna die 

If the river don't flow   
And they all run dry   
And stars start falling from the sky   
Whatever   
(Happens to me it is well with my soul)   
Well, I have no fear   
Because I know   
That Parker rules   
He's in control   
Forever   
Forever   
Forever 

*this part is sung by Donovan* 

Don't fret up your soul   
And vex up your mind   
Heed the rhythm   
'Cause it's right on time   
What you gonna do when the world's on fire   
Cling to things that will expire?   
Run to the Sphere, the coast is clear   
Just be careful of Ramsey's leer   
Many trouble dem a come   
In the life down here   
But when the world's on fire   
Have a hard cold beer 

*End Donovan's fill in* 

Are you gonna cry   
When it all comes down?   
(No! No! No!)   
Are you gonna die   
When it all comes down?   
(No! No! No!)   
Are you gonna fly   
When it all comes down?   
(How the heck could we?) 

*Owsley and Ballard repeat the chorus a couple of times to ease the crowd while Parker takes a drink....* 

[You could obviously tell where I modified the lyrics *laughs nervously*.... I apologize to Clay Crosse for doing that, but Frank really wanted them changed ever so slightly. If you want to see the original lyrics, you could go to www.claycrosse.com. It's in the discography for the CD _A Different Man_.   
And coming up next: Cameron Williams' image song!] 


	22. Special Issue 03-C - Believer music vide...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 3-7   
Believer (Cameron Williams' image song)   
Performance Version - modified lyrics 

[Buck liked his image song from _Left Behind: the Movie_, which was played while Buck was in the restroom, out of all the places in the world.... There wasn't anything really to modify, just some words that would elicit some questions because they were capitalized. Buck has been asking me if I knew anyone named You or Yours or You've, and apparently I don't. But here's his song anyway.] 

Believer   
_originally recorded by Jake; remixed by Cameron Williams_ {Cameron is sitting on a tall wooden stool in a dark room, with the spotlight on him. There's a guitarist, a drummer, a bassist, and a few backup singers in the dark doing the background music.} 

Things never happen like I wish they could   
Only in my dreams   
I've never been willing to give up my heart   
Or let myself believe   
But I have been waiting all of my life   
Just for tonight   
And this time I'm hoping, holding out to you   
To let me see the light 

Make me a believer for once in my life   
Right here and now   
Touch me somehow   
Let it be tonight   
It's all on the line   
I'm down on my knees   
I don't know how but I'm ready to see   
Clear every shadow of doubt in my mind   
'Cause I want to believe 

I've been sitting here staring at the rain   
All alone tonight   
Something about you is making me smile   
With tears in my eyes   
Maybe you've noticed, maybe you can tell   
What's happening to me   
When you say my name and touch my heart again   
It's making me believe 

So make me a believer for once in my life   
Right here and now   
Touch me somehow   
Let it be tonight   
It's all on the line   
I'm down on my knees   
I don't know how but I'm ready to see   
Clear every shadow of doubt in my mind   
'Cause I want to believe 

Why can't this be one of the times   
When I can see with open eyes   
Shine your light   
I'll never forget for the rest of my life 

So make me a believer for once in my life   
Right here and now   
Touch me somehow   
Let it be tonight   
It's all on the line   
I'm down on my knees   
I don't know how but I'm ready to see   
Clear every shadow of doubt in my mind   
'Cause I want to believe   
'Cause I want to believe   
Yeah, I want to believe.... 

[Knowing most readers, they would realize that this song has more than one connotation.... You could hear this song on either the soundtrack for the _Left Behind_ movie or on Jake's self-titled CD. I should apologize for using songs done by lesser-known artists ... but soon I'll get to a rather well-known song - to _Digimon Adventure 02_ fans, that is.   
Coming up next: Chloe Steele's image song - or rather, her backup....] 


	23. Special Issue 03-D - Ashita wa Atashi no...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 4-7   
Ashita wa Atashi no Kaze ga Fuku (Chloe Steele's backup image song)   
Performance Version - translated and original Japanese 

[Chloe came up to me with the song _Sleeping in the Middle of the Bed Again_ by the band Chicago. It is a very catchy song, but it mentions some rather controversial stuff that would get me in very deep trouble with certain people. Of course, Chloe was disappointed when I told her that I couldn't post the lyrics to her image song - not even changing the lyrics would help - but she did have a backup in mind. The only problem: it was in Japanese. But I've managed to translate it, with help from www.megchan.com. So here is Chloe's backup!] 

Ashita wa Atashi no Kaze ga Fuku (Tomorrow My Wind Will Blow)   
_originally recorded by AiM; remixed and sung in English by Chloe Steele_

{Chloe is in a karaoke bar ... I'll leave it at that.} 

_Japanese lyrics_
_English translation _

Chotto motte mite dare datte   
Kinou tomaru de chigau 

Chotto mite mite   
Yokogao no shiruetto mo otona sa 

Chotto kimi kimi   
Iiwake wo shitai kimochi mo wakaru   
Datte yo no naka kore ja   
Maru de natte nai jan 

Da ne! Kimochi ii kuuki wo   
Ima! Suitakute   
Shou ga nai shou ga nai 

Ashita wa atashi no kaze ga fuku kara ne   
Sekai juu no doa akete oite hoshii   
Ashita wa atashi no kaze ga fuku kara ne   
Kimi no sono yowamushi wo   
Mouretsu ni fukitobasu yo   
Goujasu na jinsei wo! 

Soshite ima sugu kimeta nara   
Yuuki wo sotto moteru 

Soshite ima kara dokomademo   
Tsuki kara tsuki e bouken 

Soshite ima sugu hashiri da sou   
Ato de kangae you yo   
Datte mirai ga kore ja   
Shoboi karaa ni naru jan 

Da ne! Kimochi ii merodi   
Ima! Utaitakute   
Shou ga nai shou ga nai 

Ashita wa atashi no kaze ga fuku kara ne   
Sekai juu no haato nanairo ni kawaru yo   
Ashita wa atashi no kaze ga fuku kara ne   
Kimi no sono yuuutsu wo   
Mouretsu ni fukutobasu yo   
Goujasu na jinsei wo! 

Da ne! Kimochi ii merodi   
Ima! Utaitakute   
Shou ga nai shou ga nai 

Ashita wa atashi no kaze ga fuku kara ne   
Sekai juu no doa akete oite hoshii   
Ashita wa atashi no kaze ga fuku kara ne   
Kimi no sono yowamushi wo   
Mouretsu ni fukitobasu yo   
Goujasu na jinsei wo! 

Just a minute, everyone   
Is different from yesterday 

Just look, look   
The silhouette of your profile looks grown-up 

Hey you, you   
I know the desire to make excuses   
I mean, at this rate   
You're nothing in the world 

Right! I want a breath   
Now! Of a good-feeling air   
So badly, so badly 

Tomorrow my wind will blow, so   
I want to leave the doors in the world open   
Tomorrow my wind will blow, so   
I'll violently blow away   
Your cowardliness   
A gorgeous life! 

And if you've decided now   
You'll quietly build up courage 

And from now 'til wherever   
We'll go from one adventure to the next 

And now we'll start to run   
Afterwards, we'll think about it   
I mean, at this rate   
The future'll be a dreary color 

Right! I want to sing   
Now! I good-feeling melody   
So badly, so badly 

Tomorrow my wind will blow, so   
I'll make all the hearts in the world rainbow-colored   
Tomorrow my wind will blow, so   
I'll violently blow away   
Your depression   
A gorgeous life! 

Right! I want to sing   
Now! I good-feeling melody   
So badly, so badly 

Tomorrow my wind will blow, so   
I want to leave the doors in the world open   
Tomorrow my wind will blow, so   
I'll violently blow away   
Your cowardliness   
A gorgeous life!

[Those are rather ... flowery lyrics for a rebellious girl like Chloe. But then, she did like the tune. Fans of the Japanese Digimon series would recognize this as the ending theme for _Digimon Adventure 02_ *laughs*. And you could tell where I translated and where I got it from Megchan's ... it was a difficult song to translate....   
This is the last song in this special issue! Next: the second official FAQ section!] 


	24. Special Issue 03-E - Just the Facts (thr...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 5-7   
Frequently Asked Questions (07-13) 

People these days still primarily e-mail me their questions on _Digital Conundrum_, and I've gotten enough of them to make another FAQ section! I also got some questions (actually, one) that a reader posted in a review which I'll get to here. Frank, Buck, and I have been very pleased to answer your questions - though Buck has temporarily run off because of all those questions you readers ask about his "strangeness"…. But we've got through them all. So enjoy, and hope that this answers some more of your questions! 

Just a note: (A) stands for replies from me; (F) is from Frank Parker; and (B) is from Cameron Williams [better known as Buck]. 

SECTION 1   
CORRECTIONS FROM "FAQ 00-06" 

Buck is actually called "Cam" in Left Behind - during a flashback, his college friend, Dirk, refers to him as either Cameron or Cam. Buck doesn't seem to mind, but then, it is a flashback, and Dirk has probably known Buck since before he became a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. 

There are conflicting times as to when the disappearances occur in the Left Behind series. The book has it placed in late March - early April; the movie's website claims it took place on Christmas; however, in the movie, it looked like it occurred sometime in the late spring or early fall. It doesn't really affect how this fanfic goes, though. 

"Revelation" is not the last episode of Seven Days - there were five or six more episodes after that. 

Buck has won more awards than the Pulitzer Prize. The only other award we know he's received is the Ernest Hemingway Award for War Correspondence, which he earned for his story on the air strike on Israel. His Pulitzer Prize was won for a story he wrote when he was employed by the _Boston Globe_, which we have no other information about. 

SECTION 2   
THE ONE QUESTION FROM THE REVIEW BOARD 

Q: Why exactly did those digimon in the Dark Ocean go against Dagomon?   
A: I know, it's been a while since I've seen Digimon Adventure 02, but I do recall in the episode "The Call of Dagomon" that those digimon Hikari freed wanted Hikari to lead them against a Dark Undersea Master. Then, near the end of the episode, there was a silhouette of Dagomon against the sky in the Dark Ocean world. So my only real answer is that those digimon have always wanted to go against their master, even though they never gave a reason as to why. 

SECTION 3   
ALL THE QUESTIONS THE FANS E-MAILED ME, FRANK, AND BUCK 

Q: Why does Buck transform into that Guardian character?   
B: It's because of the Crest of Truth that I wear. Whenever the presence of darkness is very high, it just … takes over me. When I first transformed into the Guardian, I had no control over myself; but I can keep the Guardian under check with the Holy Ring, as demonstrated in Part 12. There is also another, more complex reason as to why I undergo this metamorphosis, but revealing it now would ruin the story. 

Q: Is Parker ever going to backstep again?   
F: Maybe. If I ever sneak into NNL. But even if I did, it would still be too late to undo the disappearances. 

Q: Does Ophanimon have some connection with Buck?   
A: If I told you now, I'd have ruined the entire story. 

Q: Isn't there a fifth Chosen Child from Frank and Buck's group?   
A: Yes. Her name is Svetlana, and she is Olga's sister. Fans of _Seven Days_ may know already, though, that she is dead, and that is why Frank and Buck aren't out looking for her. 

Q: When are we ever going to get introduced to Tsion Ben-Judah?   
A: Soon. Very soon. 

Q: Why does Chloe have a Crest of Love?   
A: First, explain this: why does Miyako have the Digimental of Love? It works by the same principle: more than one person could have a Crest / other item that bears the same attribute. 

Q: Will Chloe ever meet her partner again?   
A: Maybe. 

Q: What's up with that phrase Buck said when he activated the Holy Ring?   
B: I don't know. I just read it. I think the author has some insight….   
A: Of course I do. Remember the fragment of the verse Tsion sent Frank and Buck in Part 07? It's that same fragment in Japanese. 

Q: Where exactly did you get that fragment from?   
A: I know I'll get flamed for mentioning this, but it's from a prayer. No, no, don't look at me like that! The fragment is the first line of Saint Michael's Prayer, which was given to me by some friends of mine. 

Q: And why did you put that quote in?   
A: Hey, if _Left Behind_ and _Seven Days_ had their Biblical references, then why can't this fic? 

Q: Did Buck really die in that last battle with Black War Greymon?   
B: I don't know. You tell me. 

Q: Why doesn't anybody ask Frank any questions?   
F: You know, that's a good one … I don't know. 

Q: Why hasn't Tentomon evolved yet with the Holy Ring's power?   
F: Because I'm not as physically and mentally tortured as Buck.   
A: Yeah right! Remember the Sphere?   
F: …. 

Q: Why are you bashing on Buck?   
B: Yeah, why are you?   
A: Well, Buck has his share of incidents in the _Left Behind_ series. He has been shot at, has had bombs placed on his cars, blown up a school bus, fallen out of an airplane into brambles, survived a plane crash, almost stung by a killer locust, witnessed multiple beheadings and a double murder, survived a 9.0 earthquake, survived a helicopter dogfight, almost got trampled by Nicolae's army, and almost got run over by a stampede of people fleeing a stadium. Not to mention that he has been charged for killing a guard and for posting anti-Nicolae stuff on the Internet. So I just wanted to save him the trouble of going through all that. 

Q: Where exactly did you get the concept of the Eastern Gate?   
A: Buck mentioned it in _The Indwelling_. He tells his now-dead friend "I'll see you at the Eastern Gate" before passing out. 

Q: Then what's up with that Western Gate that Buck (as the Guardian) mentioned?   
A: Well, if there's an Eastern Gate, there must be a Western one, too. Besides, if the Eastern Gate leads to the Golden Land, then the Western Gate would lead to ... uh, hell - which in this fic is the Dark Ocean. 

Q: Will Frank ever go through anything like Buck has?   
A: It is expected in later parts of the story. To summarize, he will be shot at, survive a hail of flaming hailstones, beat up Nicolae, almost die while scuba diving, survive a helicopter dogfight, and become the target for three nuclear missiles. Not to mention being framed for a murder he didn't commit and undergoing a similar transformation like Buck's. 

Q: Why did you put Buck in the spotlight for the last six parts?   
A: Well, he never gets enough "in the spotlight" in _Left Behind_! I mean, he's always getting shot at, and that's all he seems there for, other than to give Chloe some companionship. Besides, Frank is the star of _Seven Days_, and he needs a break from being the hero. 

Q: What is the difference between a Chosen Child and an Elect?   
A: I'll tell you the one obvious difference. Elect usually have a strange power or attribute given to them. For example, Hikari could be called an Elect because the force of Light can take over her body. Buck is most definitely an Elect because he can not only be taken over by the Guardian and use his powers, but also transform into the Guardian himself. However, in Buck's case, there is another reason why he can undergo his transformation, which can't be revealed for aforementioned reasons. 

Q: Did you make up the concept of Elected Children?   
A: Apparently so. 

Q: Does Frank's Crest have any special powers?   
F: Does it?   
A: It does, but I haven't had the chance to really set them loose. They were used once - rather subtly - when Metal Seadramon used the amplified power to rebuild the Dark Lighthouse. To put it in short, the Crest can manipulate time. 

Q: Are any more digimon going to appear in the real world later on?   
A: YES, OF COURSE! Now with both Earth and Digital World out of whack, there will be more visitations by digimon. They will all be mentioned in the Cast of Characters section of this Special Issue. 

Q: Will they take gijinka (human) form, like Delores and Mummymon?   
A: It depends on the situation. One set of digimon I'll introduce will be in gijinka form throughout their appearance, whereas others will be in their natural form. And, of course, Parker and Buck's partners will be in natural form as well. 

Q: How exactly will this story end?   
A: Why don't you wait until the last part of _Digital Conundrum_ is posted, and then you tell me, okay? Thanks! 

Q: What exactly does Buck look like? You say he's blonde, but all the official pictures show him with brown hair!   
B: That's a disgrace!   
A: First of all, let me get this straight. In the novel _Left Behind_, Buck is immediately described as a fair-haired man with rather longish hair. Hence, he is a blonde. The pictures in the _Left Behind_ comic book are 'wrong' because of that - unless he dyed his hair for certain reasons. For a decent reference, you could see the little picture I drew of Buck on my website. Another thing I must note is that Buck's hair is longer than you think. It actually grows almost to his shoulders, but is short enough not to notice. By the end of this story, though, he'll look just like Allen from _Escaflowne_. So just picture Allen with much shorter hair and green eyes, and you have Buck. 

Q: What happened to Nicolae and Delores?   
A: I've been ignoring them for some time. Don't worry, they're still alive and well. Our heroes will run into them soon enough. 

Q: Why is Takeru the only one that remembers the real battle between Devimon and Angemon?   
A: First off, he was closer to the battle - right underneath Angemon, as I recall from the Japanese tapes. And in _Digimon Adventure 02_, he was severely affected by the memory of that battle, so that must mean that something more had happened. And there is a very subtle clue to that - in both the Japanese and English versions of the episode in which that battle occured, it looks like a scene was cut between Angemon's attack and Devimon's actual death. So if the audience doesn't know, but Takeru seems to be heavily affected, then something must have happened. 

Q: How did Buck remember what had happened when he was possessed the first time?   
A: You know what? I have absolutely no idea. But I'll figure it out by the time the last part of this fic is posted. 

Q: Don't Buck's parents live in Arizona?   
A: Actually, they do. But Buck had a flashback, and his dad does own a trucking company that runs from Texas to Oklahoma, so it would make sense to have Buck live near Oklahoma City in his childhood. 

Q: And didn't Buck's mom die during his first year at college?   
A: Yeah, that too. It's his mother's very death that caused some anymosity between Buck and his dad in later years. I had to change it, though, for this story. Earlier I had said that this was an alternate _Left Behind_ universe, so I could twist Buck's past around.... 

Q: Did Buck really go to Princeton?   
B: Yes I did! Got my journalism degree there, too.   
A: Buck's right on that. However, I made up the part about him joining the fencing club. The only club we know Buck joined in college is the racquetball club, which he quit very early in his college years. 

Q: Is there any information on the new Chosen Children's families?   
A: There is sufficient information for Frank, Buck, and Chloe for me to post here....   
　Frank is an orphan, and was raised in a church orphanage in Philidelphia.   
　Buck was born in Oklahoma City (in this fic), and moved to Tuscon, Arizona when he was a teenager. His only living relatives that we know of are his father, the owner of a trucking company, and his brother Jeff; his mother had either died or abandoned the family when Buck was seven (in this fic).   
　Chloe was born and raised in Chicago with her brother Rayford Jr., and her parents Irene and Rayford Steele. Rayford Jr. and Irene were casualties of the disappearances; Rayford Sr. is still unaccounted for.   
There is not enough information on Tsion's past - and he hasn't really been introduced yet. We do know, though, that he was born in Haifa, Israel. 

Q: Who is the Faithful and True one?   
A: You'll find out at the end of the story. 

Q: Can't you just give a hint?   
A: I've given you enough already! Read the story carefully! 

Q: Where's Buck's mother?   
A: You'll find that out at the end of the story, too. 

And that is the end of the second Frequently Asked Questions section for _Digital Conundrum_! Thanks so much for your questions - Frank, Buck, and I really appreciate them! Coming up next: the Cast of Characters! 


	25. Special Issue 03-F-G - Dramatis Personae...

Digital Conundrum Special Issue - part 6-7 and 7-7   
The Cast of Characters (tentative) 

I realized that later on in this story many of the characters will be going by aliases. I know that it would be near impossible for a reader to keep track of them all, so that's what this Cast of Characters is for. It is separated by _Good Guys_, _Bad Guys_, and _Digimon and Other Mysterious Characters_. Each persona will have a quick bio and tell which series the character is from. I apologize for any mistakes - if you spot any, please tell me! 

* * *

**THE GOOD GUYS**

_Chosen Children - Ancient_

FRANCIS BARTHOLOMEW PARKER (alias: RAYFORD STEELE; common name: FRANK)   
Series: _Seven Days_   
Twenty-nine years old. An orphan. Ex-husband of Patricia Parker, and father of James Parker. Former Navy SEAL, before being sent to Hansen Island for mental rehab. Chrononaut for NSA project Operation Backstep, which deals with time travel. Has an obvious crush on Olga. His digimon partner is Tentomon; he is the bearer of the Crest of Time. Poses as Chloe's father during the Seven-Year Darkness. 

CAMERON WILLIAMS (common name: BUCK; alias: too many to list)   
Series: _Left Behind_ (novel, manga, movie)   
Thirty-one years old. Brother of Jeff Williams. Reporter for newsmagazine _Global Weekly_. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Ernest Hemingway Award. Survived mysterious failed air strike on Israel at same time as the original Japanese Chosen Children fought the Dark Masters. His partner is Elecmon; he is the bearer of the Crest of Truth. Cameron also has the ability to fuse with the Guardian (Holy Angemon). 

CHLOE STEELE (later in fic: CHLOE WILLIAMS)   
Series: _Left Behind_ (novel, manga, movie)   
Twenty-one years old. Daughter of Rayford and Irene Steele; sister of Rayford Steele, Junior; future wife of Cameron Williams, future mother of Takeru Williams. Was a freshman at Stanford University when Digital Conundrum began. Has a crush - and soon marries - Cameron. Her partner is Hawkmon; she bears the Crest of Love. 

TSION BEN-JUDAH (pronounced: Chai-on; common name: BEN)   
Series: _Left Behind_ (novel only)   
Forty-four years old. Is married, has two stepchildren. A rabbi and student of various religious text. Knows twenty-two languages. His partner is unknown; he bears the Crest of Spirit. 

SVETLANA PREMENOVA   
Series: _Seven Days_   
Deseased. Sister of Olga. 

_Chosen Children - Japanese_   
(note: all characters in this category are casualties of the Digital Conundrum, unless otherwise noted.) 

DAISUKE MOTOMIYA   
Series: _Digimon Adventure 02_   
Ten years old. His partner is V-mon. 

MIYAKO INOUE   
Series: _Digimon Adventure 02_   
Ten years old. Her partner is Hawkmon. 

IORI HIDA   
Series: _Digimon Adventure 02_   
Seven years old. His partner is Armadimon 

TAKERU TAKAISHI   
Series: _Digimon Adventure 02_   
Ten years old. Brother of Yamato. Seriously scarred by a traumatic event in his past. His partner is Patamon. 

HIKARI YAGAMI   
Series: _Digimon Adventure 02_   
Ten years old. Sister of Taichi. Has ability to be controlled by the force of Light. Her partner is Tailmon. 

KEN ICHIJOJI   
Series: _Digimon Adventure 02_   
Ten years old. Boy genius. Formerly the Digimon Kaiser. Has a very angst-filled life. His partner is Wormmon. 

TAICHI YAGAMI   
Series: _Digimon Adventure_   
Thirteen years old. Only Japanese Chosen Child left behind during Digital Conundrum. 

YAMATO ISHIDA   
Series: _Digimon Adventure_   
Thirteen years old. Brother of Takeru. 

SORA TAKENOUCHI   
Series: _Digimon Adventure_   
Thirteen years old. 

MIMI TACHIKAWA   
Series: _Digimon Adventure_   
Twelve years old. Lived in New York. 

JO KIDO   
Series: _Digimon Adventure_   
Fourteen years old. 

KOSHIRO IZUMI   
Series: _Digimon Adventure_   
Twelve years old. Computer expert. 

JIANLIANG LEE (pronounced: Jen-rya; alias: CHANG WONG)   
Series: _Digimon Tamers_   
Twenty-one years old, but looks seventeen due to plastic surgery. Brother of Shaochung. An agent of Project Hypnos, sent to help Operation Backstep. His partner is Terriermon. 

SHAOCHUNG LEE (pronounced: Shi-u-shon; alias: MING TOY)   
Series: _Digimon Tamers_   
Seventeen years old, but looks twenty-six due to plastic surgery. Sister of Jianliang. An agent of Project Hypnos, sent with her brother. Her partner is Lopmon. 

_Operation Backstep Crew_ (all characters in this category are from _Seven Days_) 

BRADLEY TALMADGE   
Age unknown. Head of the project. Is almost always seen smoking a cigar. Liason between the Backstep Panel and the rest of the team. 

NATHAN RAMSEY (common name: NATE)   
Age unknown. Head of security. Comes up with cover stories for Sphere sightings. Has an anymosity against Frank. Also has a crush on Olga. 

OLGA VUKAVITCH   
Age unknown. Chief medical engineer. Sister of Svetlana. Has a rather small relationship with Frank, but is too shaky to know if anything will happen. Her husband was a chrononaut in the Russian time travel program she was a part of before he was killed (?) in a test run. A casualty of the Digital Conundrum. 

ISAAC METNOR   
Age unknown. One of the founding heads of Backstep. A casualty of the Digital Conundrum. 

ANDREW OWSLEY (common names: HOOTER, OWLS)   
Twenty-one years old. Graduated from college as a teenager. Sent in to replace Dr. Ballard after his reassignment. Is a big fan of comic books and strange computer programs. A computer and electronics expert. 

CRAIG DONOVAN (alias: LEONARDO FORTUNATO)   
Twenty-eight years old. Frank's friend from the Navy SEALS. Backup chrononaut. Poses as Nicolae's subordinate during the Seven-Year Darkness before something very strange happens. 

DR. BALLARD   
Age unknown. The original electronics expert for Operation Backstep. Paralyzed below the waist from a childhood accident - he now rides about in a joystic-controlled wheelchair. Is always seen with a lollipop. 

_Left Behind_   
(note: all characters are from the novels!) 

RAYFORD STEELE   
See Frank. Parker's alias during the Seven-Year Darkness. Originally Chloe's father, currently unaccounted for and presumed dead at start of Digital Conundrum. Airline pilot for Pan-Continental Airlines. Former military officer. 

BRUCE BARNES   
Visiting pastor at New Hope Village Church. In charge of hiding the senior staff of Operation Backstep. 

STEVE PLANK (later alias: LT. STEPHENS)   
Buck's boss at _Global Weekly_. Replaces Buck as Nicolae's press manager. Takes alias after suffering amnesia later on in story. 

CHAIM ROZENSWEIG (pronounced: Kaim Ro-zen-zweig)   
Israeli botanist who invented the Eden Formula. Close friend - and story subject - of Buck's. Former teacher of Ben. 

ALBIE   
No-one but the best black-marketer ever! 

MAC   
Pilot of Nicolae's plane, and Rayford's co-pilot. Was also in the military. 

ABDULLAH   
Mac's co-pilot. Former air-force pilot, Albania. 

JAMES WONG   
See Jianliang. Computer expert at Nicolae's palace. Replaced David. 

MING TOY   
See Shaochung. Head of a prison in Brussels, England. 

HARRIET DURHAM (common name: HATTIE)   
Rayford's head stewardess. Nicolae's personal assistant and fiancee, before she ran away. 

MICHAEL   
See Guardian. 

ANIS   
See Sakuyamon. 

DAVID   
Computer expert at Nicolae's palace. 

HANNAH   
A nurse at Nicolae's palace. A Native American. 

ANNIE   
David's fiancee. 

LEAH   
A nurse at a hospital in Palatine, Illinois. 

RITZ   
Pilot-for-hire. 

GEORGE SEBASTIAN   
Another of Frank's buddies from the Navy SEALS. Pilot-for-hire. 

JEFF WILLIAMS   
Brother of Buck. Co-owner of a trucking company. Has known about Buck and the ancient Chosen Children's adventures for sixteen years. 

_Other Characters_

MR. T   
Series: uh....   
Yes, it's Mr. T, and he's in this story! A pilot-for-hire, and owner of a small airport. 

TAKERU WILLIAMS   
Series: none, I made him up   
The son of Cameron and Chloe. 

**THE BAD GUYS**

NICOLAE CARPATHIA (pronounced: Ni-ko-lai Kar-pei-thi-a)   
Series: _Left Behind_ (novel, movie, manga)   
See Mummymon. Due to some strange politics, he becomes the ruler of the world. He knows eight foreign languages, and is rumored to know more. However, there is something very strange about him.... 

VIVIAN IVINS (common name: VIV)   
Series: _Left Behind_ (novel only)   
See Delores, Archnemon. The surrogate mother of Nicolae. She seems to have some plans of her own.... 

LEONARDO FORTUNATO (common name: LEON)   
Series: _Left Behind_ (novel only)   
See Craig Donovan. Nicolae's immediate subordinate, next in line for ruler of the world. Claims to have been resurrected by Nicolae after a terrible accident. 

DELORES   
Series: _Seven Days_   
See Vivian Ivans, Archnemon. The gijinka form of Archnemon. She likes ramen. 

**DIGIMON AND MYSTERIOUS CHARACTERS**

_Digimon - Chosen Children's_

TENTOMON   
Parker's partner, different from Koshiro's in that he is black. Armor evolution: Scarabmon. Normal evolutions: Kabuterimon (adult), Chimeramon (perfect), Mileniumon (final). He is rumored to have an evolution higher than Final-level.... 

ELECMON   
Buck's partner. Armor evolution: Kyuubimon. Normal evolutions: Kentarumon, Knightmon, Imperial Dramon. 

HAWKMON (Chloe's)   
Chloe's partner, different from Miyako's in that he is a darker shade of brown. Normal evolutions: Aquilamon, Silphymon, Valkyriemon. 

PATAMON   
Takeru's partner, but rumored to have another partner as well. Armor evolution: Pegasmon. Normal evolutions: Angemon, Holy Angemon (see Guardian). 

V-MON   
Daisuke's partner. Armor evolution: Fladramon. Normal evolution: XV-mon, Paildramon (jogress). 

HAWKMON (Miyako's)   
Miyako's partner. Normal evolution: Aquilamon, Silphymon (jogress) 

ARMADIMON   
Iori's partner. Armor evolution: Submarimon. Normal evolution: Ankylomon. 

WORMMON   
Ken's partner. Normal evolutions: Stingmon, Paildramon (jogress). 

TAILMON   
Hikari's partner. Armor evolution: Nefertimon. Normal evolution: Silphymon (jogress) 

TERRIERMON   
Jianliang's partner. 

LOPMON   
Shaochung's partner. 

_Digimon - Evil_

DAGOMON   
Ruler of the Dark Ocean. Evolution: Metal Seadramon. 

MUMMYMON   
See Nicolae. Possesses Nicolae's body. He knows nothing of the politics or customs of Earth, and causes some major problems.... 

ARCHNEMON   
See Viv, Delores. Possesses Viv's body. Much wiser than Mummymon, and often scolds him. 

BLACK WAR GREYMON   
Created by Archnemon. His original purpose was to destroy the Holy Stones, but once he did that, he went for the Golden Land as well! 

DEMON   
The true enemy behind all of this! Will he ever appear...? 

_Mysterious Characters / Digimon_

JIJIMON and BABAMON   
Known as Eli and Moishe on Earth. The two messengers sent from the Golden Land to tell the legend of the Faithful and True for the first half of the Digital Conundrum. Have the power to create force fields and breathe fire, amongst others. Nicolae hates them, and vice versa. 

SAKUYAMON   
See Anis. She poses as a male Global Community (GC) guard on Earth. A personal assistant of the Guardian. 

GUARDIAN (digimon name: HOLY ANGEMON; human name: MICHAEL)   
See Michael. The angel who guards the Holy Stones, the Trumpet of Hope, and the Center. Can possess Buck. Is the archenemy of Demon. 

MOON=MILENNIUMON   
The second Guardian. Known as Gabriel on Earth. 

OPHANIMON   
The Archangel who guards the Eastern Gate. Her past is a mystery. Why does she care for Buck...? 

THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE   
A character destined to bring peace at the end of the Seven-Year Darkness. But who exactly is he...? 

* * *

That's your cast of characters for the entirety of this story! So many heroes, so many complicated aliases.... 

Since part 7 of this special issue is very short, I'm going to post it below! 

THE QUICK GUIDE TO THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS 

Frank Parker and Buck Williams return to Earth, finding it a changed land compared to when they left. With Backstep now just a cover for an insurrection plot, the two Chosen Children must find answers, find two more Chosen Children, and - most importantly - find a way to survive! For the next seven years until the Faithful and True one's return will be the worst the Earth and Digital World will have seen.... Can the original Chosen Children find a way to defeat the demon that will rule over their world? Or will Nicolae and Delores have the last laugh? Who is the Faithful and True one destined to redeem this stricken world? Will peace finally return to ease all the pain? And could Frank ever find a way to undo the Digital Conundrum that started it all...?   
Thus begins the adventure of the remnants of the Chosen Children to save their ruined land from an evil older than time itself....

* * *

The next issue will be _Backstep 14: Strangers In Their Own Home_, and the next Special Issue will be the evolution songs! Until then, wait for the next chapter of DIGITAL CONUNDRUM! 

[I don't own anything copyrighted in this six-part special issue! And I apologize for messing with the lyrics to songs!] 


	26. Strangers in Their Own Home

{I apologize now for putting in characters that I didn't mention in the Dramatis Personae - but I did say it was tentative, right? Anyway, I don't own any characters from _Digimon Tamers_, I don't own Samuel Adams beer, nor the _Global Weekly_ (which was made up by the authors of _Left Behind_), nor the United Nations ('cause if I did, there'd be world peace). I also am sorry for using the concept of a knife that cuts through dimensions - I got that from the _His Dark Materials_ series. And I apologize for having the World Trade Center still standing - but in both _Left Behind_ (manga) and _Digimon Adventure 02_, the Twin Towers were still standing in 2002.} 

[VERSION UP and starting animation plays....] 

Backstep 14   
Strangers in Their Own Home 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Washington, DC   
Time - seventeen days since start of Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Washington, DC in the early afternoon was usually crowded, with cars filled with politicians returning from their luncheons. But that was on any normal day, and today was not one of them.   
When Frank Parker and Buck Williams emerged from the Digital Gate with their digimon in front of the Capitol Building, they found themselves amidst the still-smoldering ruins of cars that dotted the road. White and orange barriers blocked the intersections of Pennsylvania and Maryland Avenues, where a few government vehicles had driven by.   
"I guess we won't be finding a taxi out here," Buck grumbled, letting Elecmon jump out of his arms. "You're the government agent, Parker - couldn't you just flash your ID and get us a car?"   
"We could just have the digimon evolve and ride on them," Parker replied. "Arlington isn't that far away."   
"Frank, be realistic here," Buck scolded. "I have to get to New York - my boss might be worried, and I'd like to get some stuff from my apartment. Besides, won't we look rather suspicious if we ride on digimon?"   
Parker sighed in resignation. "Okay. You've got a point. Let's just walk to the nearest car and take you to the airport." He walked up to the barrier along Maryland Avenue, Tentomon following behind, where a nondescript black limousine had parked. A man in a black suit, dark sunglasses, and neatly combed blond hair had stepped out. He flashed an ID card as Parker drew closer.   
"Are you Frank Parker?" the man queried. His voice was rather deep for such a young man.   
Parker pulled out his NSA identification from a pocket in his jumpsuit. "Yeah."   
"I'm Mitsuo Yamaki," the man said, pocketing his ID. Parker did the same. "The Backstep Panel told me to get you." He released his gaze on Parker, seeming to look out at Buck standing in the distance. "That man Cameron Williams?"   
Buck seemed to perk up at the mention of his name and walked up to Parker, with Elecmon by his side. "I'm him," he replied, pulling out his press pass.   
"He's coming, too," Yamaki said, moving one of the barriers. "Get in."   
Silently the men and the digimon entered the limo, finding a place to sit in the darkened interior. Yamaki sat across from Buck and Parker, right against the screen that separated the driver's cabin from the passenger area. The tinted screen had been raised up, but Yamaki pressed a button on the roof, and the limo started on its way down Maryland Avenue.   
"I assume that you two got yourselves out of the Digital World," Yamaki said, pulling out a grape soda from the refrigerator in the wall. "Want a drink?"   
"I'd like a Sam Adams," Parker said.   
"And a root beer here, please," Buck requested.   
Yamaki tossed two bottles out of the refrigerator at the men. "Here." He took a sip at his soda. "So, do you two want to get in contact with your families?" he asked. "I have a cell phone here if you need to talk with them."   
"I have to check on my kid in Arlington," Parker said. "And my ex-wife."   
Yamaki shook his head. "Can't do that, Frank. Your wife's house burned down in the wake of the disappearances. Proof shows that she and your kid disappeared." He bowed his head, but kept his covered eyes even with Parker's. "I'm sorry."   
Parker set down his beer and covered his eyes. "Damn," he muttered incessantly, shaking his head. "This can't be right."   
"Could I call my dad in Tucson?" Buck queried. "I'd like to get a hold of him before I go back to Manhattan."   
Yamaki tossed the cell phone to Buck. "Make it quick," he warned; "phone lines are tied up easily these days."   
Buck caught the phone and quickly typed in the number. After three rings a gruff, kindly voice responded from the other side.   
"Williams Trucking Services, Pete here."   
"Dad? It's me, Cameron."   
A sarcastic laugh. "Cameron? You've gotta be kidding! Reports say that you're presumed missing after those disappearances three weeks ago. Give me some proof."   
Buck scratched his head in thought, somewhat puzzled. "Uh, you moved to Tucson in 1984. And you founded Williams Trucking in 1960."   
Another laugh, but this time it was more sincere. "That's definitely you, Cameron! Always remembering dates like that. No wonder you didn't go into the trucking business. So, what's going on? Your boss has been calling me day in, day out!"   
_Always like Steve to get parental on me_, Buck thought gloomily. "Just checking on the family, you know. How's Jeff?"   
A pause. "Cameron … Jeff's lost his wife and his kids."   
Buck gasped silently - he liked his niece and nephew, mainly because they acted so much like he had. So curious, so playful - yet sometimes troublesome. They were the kind of kids he would have … if he had ever bothered to get married.   
"Oh," he finally responded - it was a rather blank reply. "I'm sorry."   
"It's alright, Cameron - I was shocked, too. Kind of like when your mother died."   
"Don't remind me," Buck whispered, the last images of his mother flashing through his mind. "So, is business back to normal?"   
"Don't think it ever will be. I lost half my drivers. And Jeff is the only office worker left. It'd be nice if you left the reporting fold to help out."   
"Dad! Come on! I like my job." _Except for what I've been through_, he added mentally, fingering the Tag beneath his shirt.   
"Suit yourself. Oh, wait - I've got another call coming through. I'll talk to you later, son, okay?"   
"Alright. Bye, Dad."   
Click.   
Buck shut off the phone and tossed it back to Yamaki. "Thanks," he said, settling himself into the plush leather seat. "So, how did you know where to find me and Frank?" he asked, finding that Parker had stopped shaking his head.   
"Reika - she's our driver - has a device that could pinpoint Digital Gates," Yamaki explained. "And who else would come out of a Digital Gate except for you two?"   
"You've got a point," Parker muttered. "Yamaki, do you work for Backstep?"   
The man shook his head. "No. I work for Project Hypnos, a program that monitors activity in the Digital World. Our headquarters are in West Shinjuku District of Tokyo, Japan, in the world of 200X."   
"Wait - you come from another world?" Buck burst, now leaning forward towards the agent. "But … how did you get here? We didn't see you at the Center!"   
"The senior staff of Hypnos has created a way to travel between other worlds," Yamaki said, bringing a hand beneath his suit jacket. From an inside pocket he pulled out a small knife engraved with Digital Hieroglyphs. "This is a miniature of the Omega Blade," he explained, "the sword that Holy Angemon possesses. We've learned that it could cut the fabric of space-time by resonating with the texture of other worlds. Each one of these blades is tuned specifically to two worlds - the one I have is tuned to 200X and Earth." He returned the knife to its place within his jacket.   
The two Chosen Children nodded blankly. "That still doesn't explain much why you're here," Parker spat, "other than to find us."   
Yamaki seemed to be taken aback by Parker's attitude, but his even tone didn't even show that. "Reika and I are going to be infiltrating the Carpathia regime. If you ever need to get an ally on the inside, Frank - which you'd probably want, considering this period in time - I'll be going by the name David Hassid."   
"David," Parker muttered. "I'll try to remember that."   
The car had by now pulled up to the main terminal of Dulles Airport. Yamaki reached over to open the door. "There's a Learjet in the hangars," he said in a low tone, "but you have to go through the terminal. Security's been tight since the disappearances."   
Parker gave a mock salute. "Thanks, Yamaki," he said as he clambered out over Buck, Tentomon flying out behind. "Come on, Buck."   
"If you don't mind, Frank, I'd like to speak with Cameron for a moment," Yamaki called out. "Just stand out there by the baggage check-in and wait for us."   
Parker sighed, exasperated. "Okay. Just make it quick." He trudged off to the closed check-in booth through the strangely abandoned terminal entryway, without bothering to hide his partner as they moved away.   
Now alone, Yamaki closed the limousine door and bent close to Buck. "Cameron?"   
Buck sat up at attention, bringing Elecmon close to him. "Yeah?"   
"Reika and the senior staff of Hypnos have been monitoring happenings in the Digital World since Parker went back through time-"   
"Backstepped," Buck corrected curtly.   
"Yes … Backstepped … to undo this 'Digital Conundrum' thing. Well, Cameron, we've noticed in the course of the past few hours some strange … disturbances … in the Digital World - not to mention some other dimensions."   
Buck shrugged indifferently. "Okay. What's this got to do with me?"   
"Isn't it obvious, Cameron?" Yamaki asked, pointing to the chain around Buck's neck. "Take out your necklace."   
Buck had enough experience with government officials to know that this was an order. He pulled out the Tag from beneath his shirt, being sure to show the side engraved with the Crest of Truth.   
After some seconds in which Yamaki stared silently at the dog tag, he leaned back and sighed. "Just as I expected."   
"What?" Buck tucked the Tag back beneath his shirt.   
"That symbol, on the Tag - it covered the monitoring screens at Hypnos!" He leaned towards Buck again, putting his face close to the other man's. "Cameron … does that thing do anything … strange?"   
Buck prepared himself to speak, but found himself nodding his head slowly in response instead. _There's no way I could tell anyone else about this_, he told himself; _Frank and the digimon were enough … and what if Andrew and Chloe were watching, too, on the D3?_   
Yamaki, though, didn't seem to mind Buck's silence. "Well, if whatever that thing does is powerful enough to set off alarms in Hypnos … then it must be important. You be sure to take care of yourself, Cameron."   
Buck nodded in farewell as Yamaki pulled himself away from him. He took Elecmon in his arms and opened the door. "Well, if I ever do run into you again, Yamaki," he called out as he walked towards Parker, "be sure to call me Buck."   
"Why?" Yamaki yelled from the limo.   
"'Cause everyone calls me that!" he replied as Yamaki slammed the door shut and the limo slipped silently away. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Manhattan, New York   
------------------------------------------------- 

The jet ride to New York City was rather uneventful. Buck had immediately sunk into sleep, while Parker was corresponding with Owsley on the D3. The digimon had seats to themselves on the plane - there were no other passengers.   
Strangely, the pilot - a Hypnos agent named Kenta Kitagawa - didn't ask any questions about Parker and Buck's strange companions. "They're cute little stuffed animals," he had said upon their boarding - but Parker knew it was all a front. There was a shiftiness in his eyes that gave it away all too easily.   
Two hours and a hectic taxi drive later, the men and their digimon arrived on Fifth Avenue in the East Village section of Manhattan. Ten-story condominium complexes were sprawled on both sides of the street, easily dwarfed by the silhouette of the Twin Towers to the south.   
The taxi driver had dropped his passengers off in front of a fanciful beige-walled condominium complex on the north side of the street. Buck had pulled a traveler's check and handed it to the driver before he drove off. New York cabbies had a taste for traveler's checks: they were exchangeable in dollars, yen, or marks - the three global currencies.   
"He likes your traveler's checks, but not Ramsey's credit card," Parker muttered to himself jealously. "I saw that credit-card machine in there, but did he ask me to swipe it? No!"   
"You should know by now that traveler's checks are the way to go these days," Buck scolded.   
"So now you're the expert. Of course, you're the one with the job that requires you to jump around the globe."   
"Just shut up, Frank," Buck grumbled. "I need to get back to my apartment." He pushed past the chrononaut to the entrance of the complex. He shoved his way through the gate, slowing down so that Parker and the digimon could make their way through.   
Ten flights of stairs later, the two men reached Buck's penthouse suite. The door, riddled with bullet holes from a raid nearly a month ago, was weak enough for Parker to push over with a light nudge with his elbow. The door fell with a crash, revealing the chaos that had been left untouched.   
"Does your place always look like this, Buck?" Elecmon grumbled, jumping into Buck's arms.   
Buck gaped in shock. He had known that Mummymon had shot up his apartment - and destroyed his television - but the late-night darkness had hid the rest of the carnage. Now he could see that his entire living quarters had been reduced to fabric, wood, and stuffing strewn across the wooden floor. The entryways to his private office and sleeping quarters, though, still seemed to be intact.   
"No, Elecmon," Buck sighed; "I keep this place looking much nicer than this."   
The journalist stepped inside, then turned to enter his office. Even after three weeks, the computer was still running - his screensaver with the animated _Global Weekly_ logo was displayed on the monitor. After setting down Elecmon, he moved the mouse, clearing the screensaver. A message on the bottom corner of the screen displayed how much e-mail he had received - almost two hundred.   
"Oh, damn it," he muttered, clicking on the number. Immediately a list of mail subject headings flashed on, all of them basically the same thing: WHERE ARE YOU?   
The weighted sound of boots on wood signaled to Buck that Parker was entering as well. Footsteps echoed into the office, telling him that the chrononaut was headed for the kitchen nearby. Thankfully, Buck never bought anything perishable - instant ramen was the only thing he could cook.   
Lazily, Buck clicked on the most recent of the e-mails, which he had received only - he checked the date on the calendar - five minutes ago. It was from Steve Plank, his boss at the _Global Weekly_. A brief message flashed onto the screen: 

_"Cameron, if you're still around, show up at the Weekly today. Nicolae wants you at a press conference. Dress nicely!!! Steve."_

"Just what I needed," Buck groaned. "Another close encounter with Nicolae Carpathia. Just my luck." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - _Global Weekly_ New York Headquarters, Manhattan, New York City   
------------------------------------------------- 

Frank Parker and Buck Williams stood in the opulent - by journalistic terms - office of Steve Plank. The man seated by the desk was only ten years older than Buck, but he still had a youthful air about him. Seemingly authoritative, he sported a gray formal suit, and his graying hair was neatly combed. He eyed Parker suspiciously - he had reason to, for the chrononaut was still in his casual jumpsuit, while Buck had changed into a casual suit.   
"And who's this guy that's with you, Buck?" Steve grunted, leaning back in his leather chair.   
"I'm Frank Parker, NSA," Parker said, pulling out his NSA identification. "I knew Buck when he was little."   
Steve nodded. "You can put that away, Frank," he said, waving him off. He looked to Buck, an angry glint in his gray eyes. "What kind of trouble did you get yourself in to this time, Buck? Your apartment was shot up three weeks ago! I thought you died, until half the computers here showed some kind of battle in a parallel world - and you were in it!"   
"I just got some kind of disk from President Carpathia, that's all," Buck said, trying hard to keep himself from saying more. "I guess somebody wanted it."   
"I see," Steve muttered. "Well, we're going to hope that this guy doesn't show up at the UN meeting today. President Carpathia moved it to today - thought it wasn't right to have it the day of the disappearances. I'll meet you at the UN Building. The meeting's at three-thirty."   
"Alright." He walked out of the office, letting Parker exit before him. He was about to close the office door when Steve called out to him.   
"Hey, Buck, what's with that box with stuffed animals you brought to your office?"   
Buck chuckled - almost everybody he ran into that day had thought the digimon were toys. "Oh, my brother sent them to me - they belonged to my niece."   
"And why bring them here?"   
"Uh … they made out to be interesting decorations. Besides, my niece was a casualty of the disappearances - it'd be nice to have something to remind me of her."   
"Ah … I see." Steve settled back down in he chair and chewed on a pencil. "Go on then, Buck … and take those stuffed animals with you - the others are jealous."   
Buck laughed as he closed the door. "Okay!" 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Assembly Room, United Nations Building, Manhattan, New York City   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck and Parker walked calmly into the crowded assembly room twenty minutes early, surprised to find that three-quarters of the people invited were already present. It seemed to be a more formal event than they had assumed - everyone in the room was dressed in formal business suits, and their hair was neatly combed or done up.   
Parker was carrying the nondescript cardboard box that held Tentomon and Elecmon. He set it down in the back of the circular room, deep in the shadows where it couldn't be easily detected. "You two doing fine in there?" he said, tapping on the box.   
"Just peachy," Elecmon grumbled, obviously displeased. "I just hope this meeting is only a few seconds long."   
"Too bad - you're stuck in there for an hour," Parker scolded, rising from his knees and walking back to Buck. "So, where're we going to sit?"   
Buck pointed to the circular table in the center of the room, which was surrounded by ten chairs. "I'm sitting at that table," he said. "You have to sit with the rest of the press back here."   
Parker nodded. "Good enough for me. I could watch the box." He turned his head around, looking at the group of people milling about the center of the room. "So, who's supposed to be here?"   
"Well, Nicolae, apparently," Buck sighed, walking to the center table. Parker started to follow close behind. "And that doctor that created that formula-"   
"Chaim Rosenzweig?" Parker gasped. "He's here?"   
"According to an e-mail Steve sent me, yeah." He pointed to a gaggle of people near the table. "There he is."   
An elderly man, maybe a few inches shorter than Parker, noticed Buck's gesture and excused himself from the group. He scurried over to Buck's side, taking care to smooth out his unruly gray hair and polish his spectacles.   
"Ah, yes - Cameron Williams, senior reporter for _Global Weekly_," the botanist mused in his thick Israeli accent, extending a hand. Buck took it and squeezed it generously. "What a pleasure to meet you again," Chaim continued.   
"Same here, Doctor," Buck replied. "I'd like you to meet my friend, Frank Parker."   
Parker offered his hand, which Chaim took gladly. "I'm from the NSA," he said.   
"Oh, yes - some of your friends offered to guard me, but I shooed them away. Nicolae had a better offer for my formula." The doctor chuckled.   
"Right," Parker muttered, freeing his hand from Chaim's grip. _He has no idea what he got himself into._   
"You know, Cameron-"   
"Please," Buck interrupted, exasperated. "Call me Buck."   
"Right. Buck. Well, you see, Nicolae is a little late for the meeting. He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago - right when you walked in, as I recall. I'm afraid he may be sick. Do you mind going up to his office down the hall and checking on him? You know where his office is."   
_Just great - house call on a digimon_, Buck thought in disgust. "Sure," he replied reluctantly. "I'll be back soon."   
"All right," Chaim sighed. "And you'd better have Nicolae with you when you get back!"   
Buck turned and walked away. "If you say so."   
Instead of heading for the door, Buck turned to the cardboard box next to it. He opened it, finding Tentomon and Elecmon waiting inside.   
"Hey, Elecmon - we're going somewhere," he whispered, making sure nobody was nearby to hear him.   
"That's a relief," the digimon sighed, clambering into Buck's arms. "Where to?"   
"We're off to President Carpathia's office."   
"How lovely," Elecmon grumbled.   
Nicolae's office hadn't changed much in three weeks. The nameplate still read NICOLAE CARPATHIA - PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA, but this time the title SECRETARY GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS was added below. The door was opened a crack, a sliver of sunlight flooding onto the carpet in the hallway.   
"You think he's in there?" Elecmon said, looking up at Buck. "I wouldn't think he'd leave the door open."   
"It doesn't hurt to check," Buck breathed, searching his jacket pockets for his D3. After a few minutes he pulled it out and pointed it at Elecmon. "Digimental Up!"   
"Elecmon, armor evolve! Mysterious truth, Kyuubimon!"   
The giant golden fox barged into Nicolae's office, taking care not to break the door off the hinges. Beyond the door, the office looked mostly abandoned. A laptop was upon the oak desk, a few CDs scattered by it. The minibar was still fully stocked. The window still opened out to a view of Manhattan dominated by skyscrapers.   
"Nobody's home, Buck," Kyuubimon growled. "I think we should check the men's room."   
"There is no chance of you escaping from here, Mr. Williams."   
"What was that?" Buck asked, stepping into the room until he was flush with his partner. "Who's there?"   
The door slammed shut behind him.   
"Oh, just an old friend," the crooning voice replied.   
Buck spun around, finding a woman with long white hair, purple sunglasses, and a red dress staring back at him. She slapped a tall, red hat over her hair, then chewed lazily on her purple-gloved fingers.   
"Delores," Buck breathed, pocketing his D3. The Crest of Truth beneath his dress shirt started to glow slightly. "What are you doing here?"   
"Setting my grip on the world - what else would I do?" She started to chuckle. "Nicolae's already at the meeting; I just let Doctor Rosenzweig come up with an excuse for you to come here."   
"Shoot," Buck cursed under his breath. "And what are you going to do now?"   
Delores removed her finger from her mouth and reached for a few strands of hair. "I'm going to finish what I started!" She ripped five strands of hair from her head and threw them at Buck. "Spider Thread!"   
Kyuubimon turned towards Delores and spread out his tails like a fan. "Demon Fireball!"   
Nine balls of snickering blue flame shot out from the fox's tails, flying at the thin projectiles. The hairs burned to ashes and scattered onto the floor.   
"Damn you, Buck!" Delores shrieked, running out towards the man. She barged into Buck, throwing him to the ground with a thud and harshly knocking the wind from him.   
Without time to recover from his shock, Buck threw off Delores, sending her wheeling into the door. He rubbed his neck - it was rather sore - and stood up, but Delores ran to him again and caught him by the throat. Her other hand held up one of her hairs, stiffened into a potent needle.   
"You're not going to escape, Cameron Williams," Delores crooned, increasing her grip on the man's neck. Her eyes, hidden behind her sunglasses, squinted sinisterly as Buck struggled to breathe, his hands pawing at hers.   
_Don't do it, Archnemon!_   
Delores turned at the sound, laying low her weapon. "Who dares tell me?"   
_I do._ The voice seemed to come from the laptop.   
Delores seemed to now recognize the voice's authority. She dropped the needle and released Buck. The journalist gasped and rubbed his neck, where red marks showed where Delores had gripped him.   
_It is not his due time yet_, the voice from the laptop lowed. _You know what he is. Stand down! You'll get your chance seven years from now._   
Delores sighed in disgust. "I hate how destiny works," she grumbled as she walked to the laptop. She pressed a finger against the screen and looked up at Buck. "I'll get you one of these days, Buck," she crooned. "Digital Gate … open!"   
And in a flash of blue light, Delores was gone.   
Kyuubimon padded to Buck's side and looked at him. "Who was that, on the computer?" he asked, staring at the desk.   
"Beats me," Buck sighed, pulling his Tag from beneath his shirt. "I just wonder … does he know about my connection with the Guardian?"   
Kyuubimon turned his head from Buck. "For some reason, I don't think it was talking about that," he muttered.   
"What? I didn't hear that."   
"Oh, nothing." The fox glowed with a golden light and reverted to Elecmon. "Besides, I think the meeting's over. Let's get back to Frank."   
Buck nodded. "Sounds like a good idea." 

['Til the End of the World, ending animation, and credits play....] 

NEXT TIME ON _DIGITAL CONUNDRUM_....   
Buck returns to the United Nations meeting - and he and Parker find something strange going on! But that's not all that goes wrong! When the Chosen Children return to the temporary Backstep headquarters in Chicago, they find a message from the last Chosen Child - Tsion Ben-Judah! Now it's a race against time to get to him, before Delores and Nicolae do! And at the same time, a terrible contract that begins the true atrocities of the Digital Conundrum is signed by two renowned men.... To find out more, read on in _Backstep 15: The Last Chosen Child Found! Tsion's Revelation_! 


	27. Temporary Special Issue 01 - Couples Pol...

To: the reader   
From: the author   
Re: possible couples for new Chosen Children in fanfic _Digital Conundrum_

By now you probably all know about our four hapless ancient Chosen Children - Frank, Cameron (Buck), Chloe, and the soon-to-be-introduced Tsion (Ben). Now, I've been planning to have some sort of couple thing going on with them - the problem is, who will be paired up? I really don't want to do a Cameron/Chloe, because that would be too obvious, dumb, and it's ... well, old! And besides, would Chloe really go out with a guy that's exactly ten years older than her?   
So I'm letting the reader choose the couples between the Chosen Children! In a review, tell me who you want to have paired up! Here's some obvious ones: 

Frank/Chloe   
Cameron/Chloe   
Ben/Chloe   
Owsley/Chloe 

I know, Owsley isn't a Chosen Child, but he's had so much contact with her....   
Now, you don't have to use those couples listed. I'd like to stray away from yaoi/yuri couples (I can't imagine a Frank/Ramsey getting on very well). Check out the Dramatis Personae for more characters - heck, I wouldn't even mind having our heroes going out with the bad guys, though that would be a problem later on. And I wouldn't mind digimon/human couples, either. 

Just for the record, the only definite couple I have is Yamaka (Yamaki/Reika), but that won't be until much later in the story. And I know, I did mention a hint of Cameron/Chloe in the Dramatis Personae, but I plan on putting up a new version of that list later on to reflect the new characters and couples.   
So send me those suggestions! The winner will be revealed in the next chapter! The deadline for this is May 12! 


	28. The Last Chosen Child Found! Tsion's Re...

[The results are in for the couple poll! Unfortunately, only two people voted - I found one in a review, and somebody e-mailed me their vote. The results are: one for Cameron/Chloe, and one for a one-sided Cameron/Chloe/? triangle. Both choices were so similar that I decided to combine the two ... meaning that in future chapters Buck and/or Chloe might have some competition! The Dramatis Personae will be updated at a later date to reflect this change. Don't worry, the other Chosen Children will have couples, as well ... just wait!   
[On to other business ... I don't own Jeopardy, nor any branch of CNN, nor _The A Team_, nor the Wailing Wall, nor the King David Hotel (I don't even know if it exists). And I don't own Disney, Microsoft, Time-Warner-AOL, NBC, PBS, or Fuji-TV (if I did, I wouldn't be writing this). And, no, I don't own Boeing. And I apologize to the guy in my history class who thought that there was a Japanese POW camp in Nagasaki during World War Two ... that's where I got the inspiration for the dinner scene early on in this chapter.   
[ONE MORE THING ... this is an EDITED chapter. Why? Well, I'll tell you when this installment's finished. But to make up for that, I have a treat at the end...! And for you younger readers, this chapter has FOUR graphic deaths, so cover your eyes!   
[Okay, that was a lot ... let's get this chapter started....] 

{ VERSION UP and starting animation plays } 

Backstep 15   
The Last Chosen Child Found! Tsion's Revelation 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Assembly Room, UN Headquarters, Manhattan, New York   
Time - seventeen days into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Frank Parker leaned back into a chair in the back of the room, near the cardboard box, once the meeting had begun. Nicolae Carpathia had entered the room only seconds after Buck and Elecmon made their exit, but Doctor Rosenzweig had distracted Parker with tales of previous news interviews - long enough for Buck to be well away when the good Doctor had finished.   
Now the meeting had begun, and Buck still hadn't returned yet. Nicolae was in the middle of a speech - something about uniting the world into a Global Community.   
For a creature bent on ruling the world, he sure had a good idea.   
"I wonder why he hasn't noticed that Buck's missing," Parker whispered, turning back at the cardboard box behind him.   
Tentomon's head popped out of the box. "I wonder why he hasn't noticed you, either, Frank," he buzzed, seemingly yelling in Parker's ears. "Besides, he should be coming back by now."   
Parker sighed and turned to face the meeting yet again. _No wonder I joined the military_, he thought with a sigh. _I don't see how Buck puts up with writing on all these meetings. They're so boring, they'd put Tom Brokaw to sleep._   
Parker may have gone to sleep right then - he couldn't recall - but the next time he opened his eyes, he heard the door near his chair burst open with a bang.   
"Sorry I'm late," the latecomer said, smoothing his hair and rubbing his neck. He stopped by the cardboard box and lowered a red stuffed animal with blue stripes inside. "Just had to use the restroom, that's all."   
Nicolae turned to the direction of the door, glancing at the man with a pasted-on smile. "Cameron Williams! How nice of you to finally come! Here - we have a place set for you." He moved to the only remaining empty chair at the table, which was between a dark-skinned man in traditional Botswana dress clothes and a familiar woman in a red formal work suit.   
"I know her," Parker breathed as Buck strode by. "She was the steward on the flight in the other timeline!"   
Buck settled himself in the chair and took a glance at the woman next to him. She gave a friendly wave and mouthed a "thank you" before turning back to Nicolae.   
"Ah, now we have the whole party here," Nicolae sighed triumphantly. "Now let us get down to the meat of the matter. You, there -" he pointed at Parker - "you have a weapon, do you not?"   
Parker always carried two guns - one in a pants pocket or waist holster, the other in an ankle holster. He pulled out the one in his jumpsuit pocket - not that Nicolae really needed one. Besides, why would Nicolae ask if he could just produce a monstrous machine gun from inside his suit coat?   
"That will do fine, Mr. Parker," Nicolae said, walking up to Parker and taking the gun from his open hands. "I assume that this is NSA issue, with nine bullets?" he asked, weighing the weapon. "No, wait - you fired it about three weeks ago, so there are seven bullets in here."   
Parker gulped audibly. Sure, Nicolae would know about the last time Parker had used the gun - he was there! But talk about it so casually … what was he planning to do?   
Nicolae strode away from Parker, fingering the gun as he walked. It was a decent weapon - all black, with the exception of a wooden handgrip. The man walked up to his place at the head of the table and gave his made-for-television smile.   
"Now, if I shall ask the two regional governors of England to stand?"   
_I think I missed something when I was asleep_, Parker thought as two men - probably in their fifties - stood from their chairs, blocking his view of Buck. The chrononaut scooted over a few chairs, only to see his friend loosen his tie and collar. Buck's face looked a little green, with sweat on his forehead marked distinctly by the lights around the central table. Something was glowing beneath his shirt with a faint silver light.   
_Okay, we're screwed now_, Parker thought, his eyes wide in horror.   
"I do not need you two anymore," Nicolae snarled, raising the gun to one of the men's heads. "You have given me all the money I need to start ruling the world the way it should be." He turned to the party seated at the table. "I suggest that you scoot away from the table so that none of the gore gets on your clothes," he smiled.   
Parker could see Buck cover his mouth, as if he were about to vomit.   
Then the shot went off.   
Parker could remember seeing Nicolae pull the trigger, waiting for it to click before releasing it. The bullet sped through the first man's head, passing from ear to ear before imbedding in the brain of his compatriot. Then there was the loud thud as the two hit the floor, their limp bodies falling like rag dolls.   
Nicolae wiped the gun handle and dropped it on the floor - strangely, it did not make a sound upon meeting the ground.   
"We have witnessed the death of two profound men," Nicolae started with great - obviously false - melodrama, posing before the crowd. "I had selected them to rule England - but instead, one of them took the gun from this NSA agent's hands -" he pointed to Parker " - and shot himself, killing his fellow governor with him." He pulled his handkerchief from a pocket and wiped his eyes. "What a tragic loss."   
Parker could almost see the event happen - he could feel one of the men pull the handgun from his pocket, see him run back to the main table and shoot himself….   
_It's all a lie, Francis…._   
Parker perked up at the voice - it sounded like Buck, as if he were right next to him. _But that can't be_, Parker told himself - he could see the journalist sitting at the table, cheeks puffed, trying to hold in his sickness! And that accursed Crest of his was shining beneath his shirt, blanking out the entire room….   
_Nicolae killed the men … with your gun, Francis…._   
No - two men were killed with my gun, but not by Nicolae! Parker yelled in his head, trying to block out Buck's displaced voice.   
_Must I show you what the D3 saw?_ The voice continued, increasing in volume. _Must I show you what the Crest of Truth exposed to me? Must I make you feel the torment I've lived with since I received this goddamn curse?!_   
Deep in the blinding light, Parker could see the scene he had originally burned into his impeccable memory - Nicolae calmly walking to Parker's side, taking the gun he had kindly asked for … returning to the front of the room, leveling the gun with the men's heads … the explosion that rocked the room, signaled the snuffing of their lives….   
The light was abruptly shut off, and Parker was sitting again in the United Nations assembly room, now abuzz with conversation. Nicolae was walking around the central table, seeming to comfort the shocked witnesses. Security guards had walked in, hands on their guns; they had surrounded the dead bodies, granting no glimpse of their grotesquely mutilated forms.   
"How much time has passed?" Parker asked himself, rising from his seat. He strolled down to the central table, hoping to have a word with Buck - but Nicolae was already making his way to the journalist, a kind smile pasted on his mouth.   
_Disgusting man, pretending to be so generous_, Parker grumbled, standing some distance away from Nicolae. He managed to hear their conversation, with some difficulty.   
"So, Cameron, what did you see?" Nicolae asked in an even tone into Buck's ears. "Did it shock you?"   
Buck put his hands to his mouth and stood up, knocking over his chair. He brushed past Nicolae without an apology, dashing to the door that the cardboard box was stationed by. Parker turned around to see his path - it looked like he had gone to the men's restroom … and the digimon had escaped from the box to follow him. 

Buck ran into the restroom and searched frantically for a sink, finally finding one just across from the nearest stall. Glad to find the room abandoned, he turned on the cold water faucet and vomited.   
_Damn that Crest of Truth!_ Buck cursed in his mind, tears streaking down into his face, dripping into the running water. He had felt nauseous upon entering the assembly room the second time, almost like his second encounter with Dagomon in the Dark Ocean. The Crest of Truth seemed to amplify his sensitivity to darkness - and evil - leaving him too weak to defend himself….   
_Probably expects me to fuse with the Guardian again_, Buck told himself, splashing his face with the icy water. He heaved again, and brushed his long hair from his face as he released his anguish. _But why become the Guardian in front of all those people? Nicolae would have shot me, too!   
No, wait … Delores had the chance to kill me … and that mysterious voice told her otherwise…._   
Buck gripped the edge of the marble countertop, looking down at the swirling water collecting in the sink basin. He had let the water run, hoping to drown out the experience with its soothing rumble.   
_"You know what he is…."   
What am I?_ Buck finally threw the question at himself. _I'm Cameron Williams, senior writer for the Global Weekly newsmagazine! Winner of the Pulitzer Prize! I won the Ernest Hemingway Award for my story in Israel! I'm a Chosen Child, partner of Elecmon, my digimon! I'm … the bearer of the Crest of Truth … the one chosen to transform into the Guardian….   
Was that what the voice meant? And what did Kyuubimon mean by … something else…?   
Could it be … the truth…?_   
He didn't know if the door had opened while he was sick, but when he finally looked up into the mirror five minutes later, he found Frank Parker, Tentomon, and Elecmon surrounding him, staring down with quavering eyes.   
"Are you alright, Buck?" Parker asked, placing a hand on Buck's shoulder. "You didn't look very well at the meeting."   
Buck groggily nodded his head and switched off the water. He pulled out a paper towel from a dispenser and wiped his mouth. "I guess I'm okay now," he managed, tossing the paper into a wastebasket. "Did I offend Nicolae?"   
"Why ask?" Elecmon grumbled. "He's the enemy - shouldn't you offend him?"   
Buck shrugged and prepared to respond, but Parker spoke up before him. "He thought you were too overwhelmed by the situation." He took Buck's hand and led him from the room. "Besides, such a shocking scene would make almost anyone sick. I couldn't believe what happened."   
"What's that?" Buck mumbled as Parker led him through the restroom's exit, the digimon following behind.   
"Nicolae shot two men, then told the room that it was a murder-suicide."   
"Really?"   
Parker nodded. "You don't sound so sure."   
Buck shook his head. "No … it's just that the rest of the people at the table thought it was _only_ a murder-suicide." He looked down at his chest, and pulled out the Crest of Truth he kept hidden beneath his shirt. "Do you think … this thing protected us?"   
"Well, if it did," Parker laughed, "it'd be the first good thing that thing's done for you! Now come on … we have to go back to your place for dinner."   
"You're not going to get much," Buck smirked, letting go of Parker's hand. "I only have instant ramen. I hope you're not sick of it already."   
Parker shrugged. "It's better than nothing." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Buck's apartment, East Village, Manhattan, New York   
------------------------------------------------- 

It grew dark early in New York, and by the time the instant ramen was already steaming from their Styrofoam containers, the nearby skyscrapers were already lighted like beacons. The digimon were in front of the new television Parker bought on the way home from the United Nations, watching Jeopardy. Reruns had dotted the TV pre-season lineup - some stars from popular shows had been casualties in the disappearances that occurred three weeks before.   
Buck pulled out two cups of ramen from the microwave in his kitchenette and walked cautiously into the living room, where Parker was sitting amidst pillows he bought from a nearby store. The journalist handed him a cup and set his own down on the floor while he rushed to get utensils.   
"You know, Buck," Parker said in between mouthfuls of ramen after Buck returned, "I just got a message from Owsley."   
"Really?" Buck asked, stirring his ramen with a fork. "What'd he say?"   
"Something about making a Digital Gateway on your computer so that it could send us to Chicago. Think we should try it?"   
Buck slurped up some noodles, then sighed. "I'm not so sure. What if we end up in the Digital World instead?"   
"Hey, Ramsey might already be angry at me for spending more than a thousand dollars on pillows and that TV. There's no way I'm going to spend his good money on airline tickets. And riding on the digimon is out of the question."   
Buck took in another mouthful of ramen. "Good point. I'm going to pack a few changes of clothes. If I'm not going to be here for a few years, then there's no reason to leave them here." He drank the last scraps of soup and noodles and set the empty cup on the floor. "So, when are we going?"   
"How about when Jeopardy's over?" Parker shrugged, looking back at the digimon. They had been answering the questions that flashed on the screen every fifteen seconds or so - usually incorrectly.   
"There was an interment camp in Nagasaki!" Tentomon buzzed, raising up a talon. "Come on! How can you not know that?"   
_"What is the site of the second use of the atomic bomb?"   
"Correct, James!"_   
"I told you the atom bomb was dropped there!" Elecmon scolded, standing on his hind legs and scratching the other digimon's face with his clawed paws. "You're such a dumpling-head!"   
"I knew that!" Tentomon covered, a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head.   
"They're so funny when they watch TV," Parker laughed, slurping down the last of his ramen.   
"I know," Buck chuckled slightly. He took both his and Parker's empty ramen cups and threw them in the trash, being sure to place the forks in the sink before doing so. "I'm going to pack up now," he called, making his way to his room. "Call me in fifteen minutes."   
"Okay," Parker sighed, lying down on the pillows to view the TV. Another question flashed on the screen: These are the mountains that cross through northern Romania.   
"The Carpathian Mountains," Parker muttered - and to his surprise, none of the contestants got the answer correct. 

Minutes later Parker was seated in front of the computer in Buck's office, staring off at the screen as the digimon waited by the door. Buck was long running late for their appointment - by five minutes, exactly - and Parker was in no mood to go looking out for him.   
He had had no time to think about the loss of his only family - and if darkness was to cover the earth, now would be the time to mourn.   
Patricia had always been a kind woman, a loving mother to their son, Jimmy. She wasn't fond of Parker's drinking habits - nor of his constant torture his memories of war had brought him. They had divorced while he was in the Hanson Island mental facility, in the days before he was chosen for Project Backstep.   
The last time he saw Patricia and Jimmy was last year, in a world near the brink of a demon-wrought Armageddon … a world where he was a fugitive under the shadow of a man he once trusted … a world he escaped in a backstep.   
"Frank?"   
Parker shook his head in surprise and turned to face the door. Buck was standing in the doorway, a worn brown leather jacket on his back. Slung across his shoulders was a black leather bag, his silver D3 visible in a mesh pocket on the outside. He smiled slightly as he stepped into the room, Elecmon scampering up onto his shoulder.   
"Are we going now?"   
Parker nodded and took out his D3. "Sure am."   
He brushed the screen saver off Buck's computer, then thrust his D3 at the computer screen. A new window materialized in a flash, the words STEELE RESIDENCE, CHICAGO scrolling above an image of Owsley's abandoned room.   
Buck unzipped his bag and took out his D3 as well, imitating Parker's stance. He gulped audibly - he still didn't like the prospect of traveling this way.   
Tentomon flew to Parker's side and stared at the screen. "You're supposed to say 'Digital Gate Open' to activate the portal, Frank," he buzzed.   
Parker laughed, rubbing his neck as a sweatdrop rolled down his head. "Right. I knew that." Once again he thrust the D3 so that it almost touched the computer monitor.   
"Digital Gate … open!"   
And in a flash of blue-green light, the two Chosen Children and their digimon disappeared from Buck's apartment for the last time.   
The Digital Gate than closed, but instead of the screen saver flashing on, the monitor turned dark. White words in boldface capital letters scrolled onto the screen.   
**WHAT COINCIDENCE … TWO CHOSEN CHILDREN AT THE SAME MEETING … I ASSUME DELORES COORDINATED THAT. THAT YOUNG ONE, FRANCIS … BEARER OF THE CREST OF TIME … HE'S FOILED MY PLANS ONCE - I'LL MAKE SURE HE'LL PAY IN THE FINAL BATTLE….   
AND CAMERON, WITH THAT CREST OF TRUTH THAT HE BELIEVES PLAGUES HIS SOUL … HE HAS NO IDEA HOW WRONG HE IS. SOON THE DAY WILL COME WHEN THAT GUARDIAN WILL PART FROM HIM … SOON A DAY WILL COME WHEN THE - HEY!!! DAMN SCREEN SAVER!!!! I'M NOT DONE YET…!!!!!!!**   
And before the mysterious messenger could finish, the Global Weekly screen saver popped onto the screen, erasing the bizarre monologue. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Steele residence, Mount Prospect, Chicago, Illinois   
------------------------------------------------- 

Talmadge, Ramsey, Owsley, Donovan, and Chloe were eating a simple dinner of Chinese take-out when they heard a ringing _thump_ above their heads.   
"What the hell was that?" Donovan mused, setting down his chopsticks. He thumbed his stubby goatee as he looked at the ceiling. "Did something fall?"   
"Must be a shelf in one of the rooms," Ramsey grumbled, stabbing his fork forcefully into a pile of noodles smothered in teriyaki sauce. "Who owns the room right on top of us?"   
"Me," Owsley muttered meekly, nibbling on a sprig of broccoli. "I'll go check it out."   
"Me, too," Chloe added almost immediately. She pushed herself out of her chair and walked over to Owsley's side, tugging on the computer specialist's arm and yanking him out of his seat. Then she ran out of the kitchen, into the parlor, and up the stairs to what were now Owsley's quarters.   
_Geez, this Chosen Child stuff must really be getting to her head_, Owsley moaned as he lazily dragged his feet behind the girl. _We may be the same age, but does she really have to act as a child?_   
Chloe was waiting at the top of the stairs when Owsley finally reached the last step. She had taken off her light jacket before eating, so now her bare tanned arms were exposed - along with a few tattoos that encircled her upper right arm.   
"You're too slow, Andrew," she scoffed, pulling him up to the top. "Now come on - I hear some moaning in Raymie's room."   
_She still considers it to be her brother's room_, Owsley mused, following the girl closely as they turned left down a corridor, then finally to a half-open door on their right. Chloe pushed the door open all the way, flipping the light switch in her room on at the same time.   
"Hey! Who turned up the lights?"   
Owsley's ears perked up when he heard the familiar voice. "Frank?" He pushed Chloe out of the doorway, running into the room to view the scene.   
Frank Parker was lying on the floor, rubbing his eyes as he looked up at Owsley. Buck was on top of him, a heavy leather bag resting on his back. Two stuffed animals were beneath Parker, shoving their way from beneath the man's large frame.   
"Get off of me, Frank," a tinny voice murmured. "You're squishing me."   
"Tell that to Buck," Parker moaned. "Come on, Buck - get up!"   
"Fine," the journalist grumbled, clambering to his feet. He picked up his bag - which had been flung to the floor as he stood up - and watched as Parker climbed up almost catlike to an upright position. The two digimon they had almost crushed shook themselves and stood up, revealing a stuffed animal they had seemed to have tackled.   
"Hey, I remember seeing those things!" Owsley stammered, pointing at Tentomon and Elecmon. "When you guys came out of the computer at … well … my old place!" He removed his glasses and wiped them on his shirt before putting them back on. "And … they moved!"   
"And we can speak, too," Tentomon said, lifting a silver talon. "I'm Tentomon."   
"And I'm Elecmon," the blue-striped red digimon next to him said, standing on his hind legs and raising a forepaw. "We would have told you, but…."   
"We wanted to surprise you," Parker laughed, looking at Buck with a swift eye. "Ain't that right, Buck?"   
Buck nodded his head. "Yeah. That's right."   
"So, this is Chloe?" Parker said, noticing the girl standing in the doorway next to Owsley. She seemed to be in shock, her tanned skin turning a shade of blue.   
"Yeah. I'm her," she said after a few moments. "I saw both of you on that program Andrew had on his computer." She moved her eyes over to Buck, a smile inching its way across her mouth. "You put up a good fight in that garden, Buck. What exactly happened to you?"   
_Damn - she knows about it, too_, Buck grumbled inwardly, moving a hand over where his Crest of Truth lay hidden beneath his shirt. "Long story," he stammered, unable to move his eyes away from the young girl. "I'll tell you some other time."   
"You know," Owsley barged in, "you should have some dinner. We have Chinese food down in the kitchen. Just leave your stuff in here - we'll deal with it later."   
"Should we come?" Tentomon asked.   
Owsley shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"   
Buck removed his bag from his shoulders and took off his leather jacket, throwing them both on a bed. He picked up Elecmon and walked over to Owsley and Chloe, Parker and Tentomon following close behind.   
_POP!_   
"What was that?" Buck asked, turning back to look into the room.   
Standing on the floor, near where Parker and the others had landed earlier, was a … bird. It was two feet tall, with brown feathers covering its body and white feathers on its head. Black claws were on its wings - three on each - and silver claws were on its feet. A golden beak was pruning the feathers on its belly meticulously. A belt-like headband held two brown and white feathers upright at the top of its head. The creature's blue eyes roamed the room, soon settling on Chloe.   
"Chloe?" it said, its voice like that of a cultured American businessman.   
"You've got to be kidding me," Chloe gasped, looking down at the bird. "Hawkmon?"   
"Hawkmon?" Buck, Parker, Owsley, and the other digimon said in unison, puzzled. "Who's that?"   
"He's my partner!" Chloe sighed, pushing her way through the men. She knelt before Hawkmon, taking the bird-digimon into her arms. "I can't believe you're back after all these years!" she exclaimed, bringing Hawkmon deep into her chest.   
"At least - you still - have - the same - grip," Hawkmon moaned, flaying to get out of the girl's grasp.   
Chloe pulled Hawkmon away from her and set him back on the floor. "Well, it's good that you're back," she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "How did you get here?"   
"Through the computer," Hawkmon scoffed, dusting off his feathered wings. "Now, is there something for me to eat?"   
Chloe smiled. "As a matter of fact, we have Chinese food downstairs. Oh - I should introduce you to Andrew, Frank, and Buck." She pointed to each of the men as she said their names.   
"I know Frank already, but who're Andrew and Buck?"   
"I'm one of Frank's friends," Owsley said, pointing at Parker.   
"Actually, my real name's Cameron," Buck said, thrusting his hands into his pockets. "But I prefer to be called Buck these days."   
"Oh, yes," Hawkmon said as if to himself. "Cam! I remember you now. You don't mind if I still call you Cameron?"   
"Just call me Buck, please," Buck sighed, exhausted.   
"Fine," Hawkmon muttered. "So - where's dinner?" 

Talmadge, Ramsey, and Donovan were watching television in the living room when Chloe, Parker, Buck, Owsley, and the digimon finally made it downstairs. The men were watching CNN, staring at the screen hypnotically.   
"If you want food, Andrew, the leftovers are on the table," Ramsey called from behind a couch, seemingly irritated.   
"You think there's enough for all of us, Nate?" Parker called out, attempting to imitate his colleague's sourness. "There are four hungry stomachs waiting out here."   
Ramsey pealed his head away from the TV, finding the group standing by the foot of the stairs. Parker, Buck, and Chloe - _I can't believe Donovan let her in here_, Ramsey thought - were each carrying what seemed to be beaten-up stuffed animals. The former chief of security gaped, then tapped the shoulder of Talmadge (who happened to be sitting next to him).   
"What is it this time, Nate?" Talmadge grumbled. "There's something interesting on CNN."   
"Bradley … Buck and Frank are back."   
"WHAT?" Talmadge roared. He stood up from the couch - as did Ramsey - and looked back towards the stairwell. Sure enough, Parker and Buck were there - as were Owsley and Chloe. _But what's up with those stuffed animals Frank and Buck always carry around?_ Talmadge asked himself as he walked with open arms towards the group.   
"Frank! It's so glad for you to come back!" the head of Project Backstep exclaimed, enveloping Parker in one of his famous bear hugs. "What took you so long?"   
"It's a long story, Bradley," Parker groaned, pulling away from Talmadge before Tentomon could start to complain. "It'd take me forever to tell."   
"I see." Talmadge stepped away, his icy eyes staring at the digimon in Parker's hands. "And what's this thing you're carrying - not to mention what Buck and Chloe are holding, too."   
Parker tried to stifle a chuckle, but ended up releasing a hearty laugh. "Bradley," he managed after a while, "it's about time Buck and I showed you something." He brought his head down towards Tentomon's and whispered, "You can talk now."   
"Oh, right," the insect in Parker's hands stammered. "I'm Tentomon."   
"I'm Elecmon," the digimon in Buck's hands said in a hoarse voice.   
"And I'm Hawkmon," the bird in Chloe's hands said, giving a mock salute with a wing.   
"We're all digimon!" the three creatures exclaimed in unison.   
Talmadge looked down at the digimon again, this time bending down close to each of them. "Digimon, you say?" he mused, bringing his face close to Elecmon.   
"That's right," Elecmon grumbled, shifting his eyes away from Talmadge.   
The head of Project Backstep turned to face Parker again, his eyes cold. "Parker, do these creatures have anything in relation to those on that disk?"   
Parker shook his head. "No - I mean, they're the same species … I mean, they're digimon, like on the disk, but they're not bad - they don't have anything that could destroy the world … I think." He looked down at Tentomon again. "Is that right?"   
Tentomon nodded his head. "We have no reason to take over the world."   
"See?" Parker laughed. "They're perfectly harmless."   
"Well, they'd better be," Ramsey snapped, pointing a finger into Parker's face. "And you'd better make sure that they don't try to trash this house!"   
"Nate," Parker sighed, "the most damage they'll do is eat all the food. You'd better make sure you have a full refrigerator."   
Ramsey scoffed and turned from Parker with a turn on his heel. "Just warning you, Parker," he sneered before walking off towards the television. 

The next morning found Owsley, Parker, Buck, Tentomon, and Elecmon lying asleep in Owsley's appropriated room. There wasn't much in the way of free space in the small bedroom, making it nearly impossible for the grown men to even find a place to sleep on the floor.   
Buck was sleeping by the computer when he heard a soft _ding_ on the speakers. Drowsily he rubbed his eyes, then climbed into the chair before the computer. Brushing away the screensaver, he found the e-mail program, set to monitor Parker's e-mail.   
"Damn it, Frank, don't make it too easy for us to eavesdrop on you," Buck moaned drunkenly, looking at the new messages Parker had received within the past twelve hours. There were four in all - and two of them were addressed to Buck.   
"Somebody must be playing a joke," Buck grumbled, clicking on the earliest of the received mails. The message flashed on the screen, showing a brief memo…. 

_Buck-   
I have to thank Secretary-General Nicolae Carpathia for obtaining your temporary e-mail address. According to him, you weren't at the UN meeting yesterday afternoon. Now, I've managed to get the security tapes from that conference room, and it shows that you're there. Also shows some other interesting things I would rather tell you in private than online. Nicolae insists that you did not attend this meeting, though, and has made me take your place as publicity director. And he has also forced me to demote you. By the time this reaches you, your stuff from your office will be en route to the Chicago Global Weekly building. You probably remember where our Chicago headquarters are. You'll have a lower pay, but you'll still answer directly from my boss, Mr. Bailey. He'll give you your assignments.   
I'm sorry I've had to do this, Cameron, but I had no choice.   
Your friend,   
Steve Plank._

"Oh, shoot!" Buck cursed, deleting the e-mail and slamming his hands on the desk. "How can Nicolae ignore that I was there yesterday? He spoke to me…."   
Blankly, Buck looked down at the dog tag that hung down his neck. Did the Crest blind Nicolae from knowing that Buck saw what really happened at that meeting? If that was so, why did he still ask him what he saw after the shooting…?   
"No, I'm not going to think about that now!" Buck whispered harshly, bringing himself to look back at the e-mail program again. He clicked on the other e-mail, finding a considerably longer missive that Steve's. 

_Frank Parker and Cameron Williams,   
If this has managed to reach you, then you know that some troubling times have come upon our world. I assume by now our digimon partners have returned - mine hasn't so far, but I'm a patient man.   
I know we've promised to keep in touch with each other after what happened sixteen years ago. However, I've realized that it has been nearly impossible, with our lives being so busy. But I've been able to get much information on the two of you, along with your friend Chloe. I am sorry about Svetlana, as well for all the others who have disappeared in that event three weeks past.   
I'm sorry, I'm getting off the topic. Now, I know that Cameron is an able journalist - I'm to understand he has a Pulitzer Prize, am I correct? If he can spare some time, I would like him to come visit me in Jerusalem. There are a few things I would like to show him. Don't worry, CNN will also air what I am to share with Cameron - so don't be jealous, Frank!   
I hope to hear from you soon about this, Cameron - and I would also like to hear from you too, Frank and Chloe.   
-- Tsion Ben-Judah   
Your fellow Chosen Child   
PS: I hope that that poem I sent you earlier helped out._

"Tsion Ben-Judah," Buck mused, leaning back in his chair. "The last Chosen Child … this could be our chance to get all of us together…." 

The Steele house was almost empty when Frank Parker and Tentomon came down for a late breakfast. A note had been left on the refrigerator when he came in: _Team went to New Hope to move stuff to our new HQ. I'll come back to give you your assignments. Talmadge._   
"New Hope … wherever that is," Parker muttered, opening the refrigerator. There was a tray of crab sushi before him, virtually untouched. He took it out and closed the refrigerator door before making his way to the dining table in the center of the kitchen.   
Buck and Chloe, along with their digimon, were already seated at the table, their empty cereal bowls evidencing that they had already eaten. Chloe looked somewhat drowsy, her mussed-up blond hair tumbling around her sunken face. Buck was leaning on his left hand, and was toying with his Holy Ring in the other.   
"Anything interesting happening today?" Parker asked blankly, opening the tray and taking out a sushi piece. He placed a slice of horseradish on top.   
"I got demoted," Buck grumbled, looking down at the ring in his hand. "Nicolae didn't think I was at that … meeting … yesterday."   
"You've got to be kidding," Parker scoffed, throwing the piece of sushi into his mouth. "Nicolae talked to you there."   
"Well … apparently digimon like him don't have good memories."   
Parker sighed. "I guess so."   
Buck sat up and put the ring back on his hand. "On a lighter note, I got an e-mail today from somebody important."   
"Oh?" Parker asked, throwing another piece of sushi into his mouth. "Who?"   
Buck chuckled. "You're not going to believe me … it was from Tsion Ben-Judah."   
Chloe sat up at the mention of the name. "I think I've heard that name before."   
"You're right!" Parker exclaimed. "He's one of those people we had to find!"   
"The last of the Chosen Children," Buck said, almost to himself. "He told me that he wanted me to go to Israel to meet him."   
"Then what are you waiting for?" Parker burst, standing up from his chair with such fervor that he toppled it over. "Go to Israel!"   
Buck shrugged. "Well, I would, but….."   
"But what?"   
"What if it's a trap? I mean, we've been getting e-mails from Tsion since we met the digimon! What if he's trying to lure us?"   
Parker sighed, a forced breath of air escaping from his mouth. "Buck, the Guardian told us to find Chloe and Tsion. Chloe hasn't done anything bad, so I'm sure that Tsion won't, either. Just go to Israel, okay?"   
Buck nodded. "Fine. But I'll bring Elecmon, just in case something happens." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Ben Gurion Airport, Jerusalem, Israel   
Time - twenty-two days into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

Four days later, Buck walked out of the air-conditioned flurry of Ben Gurion airport, a black leather bag over one shoulder and his cell phone over one ear. A man in a thick accent was speaking to him on the line, and it was near impossible to hear him over the din of foreign voices around him.   
"Where … are … you?" Buck yelled into the phone, looking around as he neared the passenger pick-up area. There were many men, all of them in neatly-groomed short-sleeved suits, standing by dark, boxy limousines.   
"I am the one with the cell phone to his ear!" the voice replied loudly into his ear.   
Buck scanned the long line of valets before him, barging his way through other masses of people as he did so. A minute later he could see a short man, dressed in light safari clothes like Buck, with one of those cell phones that looked like a relic from an episode of _The A-Team_. He had brown hair neatly groomed behind his head, but his stubby beard had graying spots that betrayed his age. The man looked up and, noticing Buck, waved his hand sheepishly as he gave a giant grin. He turned off his cell phone and tucked it into his pocket as Buck ran up to him.   
Buck looked down at the man in shock as he stood before him. _This_ was the last Chosen Child he and Parker were called to search for? He looked so … old….   
"Tsion Ben-Judah," the man smiled, extending a hand.   
"I'm Cameron Williams," Buck chuckled, taking out his own hand and giving the older man a hearty handshake. "But please, call me Buck."   
"Well, in that case," Tsion said, "you may call me Ben. I find that it is easier for my foreign friends to say that." He released his hand from Buck's and opened the door of his limo. "Please, come inside! Do you have any other luggage? My porter would be glad to take it for you."   
Buck shook his head. "This bag has all I need," he said, patting the bag with his hand. A faint muffled sound could be heard with every pat from inside the bag. Without giving notice to the ruckus inside his bag, Buck climbed into the car, making room for Ben to sit down across from him.   
Ben closed the door behind him and sat with his back to his driver. The car was modeled like a European car, so the driver's side was on Buck's right. Ben muttered something in Hebrew, then the limo rumbled to life and slowly turned into the line of cars leaving the airport.   
"Where are we going, Ben?" Buck asked Ben, slinging his bag off his shoulders. He unzipped the main pocket, and Elecmon's head burst out of the opening, seeming to catch his breath.   
"Buck, next time, don't pat the bag when I'm inside," the digimon grumbled, clambering out of the bag and onto Buck's lap.   
_I'll take care not to_, Buck thought as Ben started to speak.   
"We are going to the Wailing Wall," Ben stated, looking down at the strange creature on Buck's lap. "If I remember, that is Elecmon, right?"   
The digimon nodded. "Yeah."   
"Nice seeing you again," Ben chuckled, reaching into one of his pants pockets. He pulled out a stopwatch-like device, much like what Buck had found what seemed like months ago, and a dog tag on a chain. The glint of the twilight sun marked the indentations where a symbol and Digital Hieroglyphs had been written.   
_So he is a Chosen Child_, Buck mused, looking at the items Ben had revealed. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at your Crest," he ventured, holding a hand out as if asking for something.   
Silently, Ben took the chain the dog tag was on and placed it gently in Buck's hand. The journalist raised the side of the Tag that had the Crest's symbol and name towards him. It was a strange design, almost like a broken cross within a starburst. The Digital Hieroglyphs beneath it rearranged themselves into the words _Crest of Spirit_.   
"Thanks for letting me look," Buck said, placing the Tag back into Ben's hand. Ben thrust his ancient-looking digivice into his pocket again, but put the chain with the Tag around his head, tucking it beneath his shirt.   
"You're welcome," Ben said, folding his hands on his lap. "I do not understand, though, why my partner has not come back yet. I see you with Elecmon - and I assume that Frank and Chloe's have returned, too?"   
Buck nodded. "Yeah. So, what was this thing you wanted to talk to me about?"   
Ben sighed. "A few years ago, I and a few fellow rabbis were gathered to find the identity of one known as the Messiah - the Faithful and True one. There have been many prophecies not only in the major religious texts - the Bible, Torah, and Koran - but in folk tales, songs, and those sorts of things. We had to comb through all this information, but just a month ago - the day before the disappearances, as I recall - we had finally narrowed down the field to one man."   
"And this is important because…?" Elecmon grumbled, standing on his hind legs and folding his forelegs like an impatient human.   
"Well," Ben said, "in all our reading, we ran into a rather long tale of the end of the world. And it ends with the Faithful and True revealing himself and destroying the darkness that plagues the world."   
"I see," Buck mused. "So, could you tell me?"   
Ben shook his head. "I promised to keep it confidential until the CNN broadcast tomorrow afternoon." He looked out a window, finding that the car had stopped at a broad gate overflowing with people curiously looking inside. A duo of voices, calling from inside, seemed to beckon to the now-darkening sky. "It looks like we are here. Buck, you should hide Elecmon - and take your bag."   
"Aww, not the bag again," Elecmon muttered as Buck picked him up and put him in the bag. Buck left the bag slightly unzipped, though, enough for the digimon to peak out of.   
Ben opened the door, allowing Buck to step out first before he did. He took Buck's hand and led him through the densely packed crowd, picking his way through men and women staring off at the ancient wall that towered some way in the distance. The thunderous voice at the front still kept its constant tone, like it was being amplified by hidden speakers … though there was no obvious wiring networked through the rocks.   
At last Ben and Buck had made it to the front of the crowd - which, strangely, was not as dense as the far back. There was nearly fifteen feet of space between their location and the wall. And at the base of the wall was the source of the two mysterious voices….   
"I smell digimon," Elecmon whispered from the bag.   
And it seemed that Elecmon was correct. The two creatures (_how could they be called human?_ Buck thought) were probably only three feet high, wearing ragged robes that sagged to the ground. One was obviously male, his face covered with long white hair that hid his eyes. A white beard draped over his chest, fluttering with every word he spoke. In his hands was a simple wooden staff with a cat's paw at its head, which he seemed to support himself on.   
The other creature had hair tied into a bun, yet was done low enough to hide her eyes as well. Her mouth was almost stitched together like a horror film reject, but the opening in her face flapped up and down wither her words. She held a broom, which she supported herself on.   
Buck took out his D3 and pointed it at the two creatures. A screen showed up for the male one: _Jijimon, Final level, special attack - Hand of Death_. He browsed through the statistics, then pressed a button to reveal the other's information: _Babamon, Final level, special attack - Empress Haze_.   
"They're digimon," Buck gasped, putting his D3 back into his pants pocket. "Did you know about this, Ben?"   
The rabbi nodded. "One of the legends I read in my research told about them. Back in ancient days, digimon were thought to be divine beings. These two were destined to tell of the Faithful and True one's arrival in the old days … and to tell of his return during the darkness."   
"Jijimon and Babamon," Buck mused, gazing out at the two digimon speaking in the distance. Their message was strange, like the archaic ramblings of Old English, familiar words twisted into a syntax Buck didn't understand.   
"Their names mean _ancient man_ and _ancient woman_, respectively," Elecmon grumbled from inside his bag. "Rumor has it they come from the court of the Supreme Deity Himself."   
"I see," Buck muttered. He turned towards Ben. "Ben, if you don't mind-"   
An explosion echoed off the walls of the ancient temple, bringing the crowd around the area crumbling en masse to their knees. Buck shoved Ben to the rocky floor as two men, faces and bodies covered in soiled white robes, ran to the front of the crowd, only feet away from them. Both of the intruders were carrying semiautomatic machine guns, pitted with scars from a conflict that had ended over a year ago. One of the men yelled out something in Arabic.   
"What did he say?" Buck asked, bringing his head close to Ben's ear.   
"Something about them being a disgrace before God," Ben rasped, barely heard over the silence. "They want to kill them."   
"Right," Buck whispered, bringing his head up to view the conflict.   
Babamon took up her broom in a sweeping position, her sewed-shut mouth now flapping in speech with its limited movement. "Hear ye, intruders upon the sacred ground on which we stand! We, the messengers of the Supreme Deity, have come to prophecy of the day when the Faithful and True shall once again walk this earth."   
"We only have a short time," Jijimon continued, taking his staff into a battle-ready. "For as long as we stand here, we shall give you the blood shed in war for you to drink! The pure waters from the heavens shall not fall here unless we see it fit."   
"And as for those who rise against us before the due time," Babamon said, "they shall only run into death! Empress Haze!!!"   
Babamon swept her broom high over her shoulder and brought it down as if she were to hit a man with it. A fiery aura enveloped the bristles of the broom, shooting out towards the assassins as she brought it down. Fire blasted against the bodies of the frail men, charring them with such efficiency that they had no time to scream. Ten seconds later, as the fire died out, only two dark shadows on the ground and two melted hunks of metal evidenced the men's existence.   
"Holy Mother of God," Buck gasped, looking out towards the diminutive remains of the men. A digimon that was an agent of the Supreme Deity had the power to do this? The Guardian had never shown such strength against an enemy! Slowly Buck got to his feet, straightened the bag on his shoulder, and helped Ben up.   
"I did not think the prophets would use such power during their time on Earth," Ben mused, dusting himself off. "Now what was it you were about to say, before we were so rudely interrupted?"   
Buck looked back towards the entrance of the ancient temple complex. The crowd was milling out, the shock of the assassins' deaths weighing silently above them. "Well, I wanted to see if we could talk to Jijimon and Babamon," he sighed, "but I guess we have no hope … you saw what happened." He started to walk off. "Come on, Ben - you could drop me off at my hotel."   
_Child of Truth, come forward…._   
Buck froze in midstep. Where did that voice come from? It sounded a whole lot like Babamon - but that wouldn't be right! The voice seemed to echo in Buck's mind, not across the entire temple.   
_I know you want to speak to us_, Jijimon's voice entered Buck's heart. _And we want to speak to you, as well. You are the Chosen Child we must speak to - you are the only one we can speak to.   
But take Tsion, too_, Babamon continued, _for he must be told this as well_.   
Puzzled, Buck turned around to face the wall again. He walked to Ben's side, looked down at him. "They want to speak to us," he trembled, looking back at the two digimon. In the arising moonlight the prophets seemed to glow with an ivory aura.   
Ben shrugged. "What an honor, for us to speak with the prophets. This will be the chance of a lifetime."   
Slowly Buck and Ben advanced towards the two digimon prophets before them. Jijimon and Babamon had laid low their weapons on the ground, and were now seeming to stare at them with their hands clasped in front of their bodies. Babamon gave a strained smile as the two Chosen Children were at a comfortable speaking distance away from them.   
"So, you want to speak to us, Jijimon and Babamon?" Buck ventured nervously, keeping his hands on his bag strap.   
_Yes_, Jijimon whispered, nodding his head.   
_We wish to tell you things of the Faithful and True one that we can not tell those that are not Chosen_, Babamon continued, bowing her head.   
"What are these things?" Buck asked blankly. He knew Ben was to probably say the gist of what the prophet digimon were about to on television the next day - but if he heard it now, it would save him the trouble of watching it.   
Jijimon started the strain of descriptions, alternating with Babamon for every phrase they said. They nodded their heads in deep reverence as they switched off.   
_He shall be a male child, born of a digimon and human.   
He is to know great pain, never to know true love.   
Though one may love him, he can not accept it.   
He will be killed by one whom he believed to be righteous.   
But he will only rise again to bring end to seven years of darkness.   
And he shall be one of the Chosen Children of this age._   
"A Chosen Child?" Buck gasped, looking down at the digimon incredulously. "You've got to be kidding. Who is he? Frank? Ben? Me?"   
_Lo, you may know his identity already_, Jijimon lowed, bowing his bearded head.   
"But just tell me who exactly he is!" Buck hissed, his eyes narrowed.   
_We cannot_, Babamon replied calmly; _in seven years he will be revealed.   
It is time for our rest, waiting for another day_, Jijimon yawned, bending his head back as he covered his beard-covered mouth with his free hand. _We shall be silent now._   
"But … I have more questions," Buck ventured, bending down so he was even with the digimon, who had picked up their staffs and started to retreat.   
Babamon turned around, a smile straining on her sewed-together mouth. _Only one more, Cameron._   
"Well … how exactly did you get here?" What else could Buck ask? He could have asked about his mother … but Ophanimon had given a cryptic answer, and these two digimon prophets seemed to be on the same level as the Archangel.   
Babamon opened her mouth and gave a hearty cackle. _That is a ridiculous question. But like the Guardian who takes a host in a digimon and a human, Jijimon and I have chosen hosts as well. However, our hosts were in the Golden Land, but we had permission to take their bodies, yet only reveal our digimon forms on Earth. Then the Guardian opened a Digital Gateway to this place, and here we are._   
"I see," Buck sighed. "Well, good night to you."   
The two digimon slunk away without a reply, retreating to the remains of a small building on the far side of the wall.   
Ben bent down by Buck, and looked off where the digimon had gone. "What did they tell you?" he whispered, taking a quick glance at Buck.   
The other man shrugged carelessly. "Oh, something about the identity of the Faithful and True. Probably something you already know."   
Ben nodded. "We should be getting back to the car now. I will have my driver drop you off at your hotel. Is that all right with you?"   
"Sure," Buck replied blankly. Jijimon and Babamon had taken their seat by the wall, and now seemed to be sleeping with their strange weapons held lightly in their hands. The two digimon had that soft air of mystery about them, that aura that filled Buck with questions to ask them - but would he ever have another chance? The last prophecy that Babamon had told him echoed in his mind.   
_He shall be one of the Chosen Children…._   
But which one of them - Frank, Ben, or Buck - was the Faithful and True? 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Suite 730, King David Hotel, Jerusalem   
------------------------------------------------- 

At nine-thirty in the evening, Buck lay on the king-sized bed in his hotel room, staring upwards into the dark ceiling. He had kept the lights off, and - despite much complaints from Elecmon - had turned off the television. His bag, holding his cell phone, leather jacket, D3, suit, and laptop, was on the floor by the foot of the bed. Elecmon had climbed onto the bed and nested himself in the silken sheets by Buck's feet.   
"Buck?" Elecmon grumbled shortly, turning his head to face his partner. "You've been staring at nothing since we've checked in. What about dinner?"   
"I called room service earlier," Buck mumbled, his eyes still on the ceiling. "They'll be here shortly."   
As if on cue, there was a harsh knocking on the door.   
"Who is it?" Buck moaned, stretching himself to a seated position. He laboriously rose from the bed and walked to the door that led to the hallway outside.   
"Room service," a male voice in labored English called from beyond.   
Buck was already at the door when the man had replied. Peering through the peephole, he saw a young Israeli man behind a metal cart draped with a white linen tablecloth and a few items wrapped in foil. The man had a nametag that said King David Hotel in English and something in Hebrew. Seeing that the man was safe, Buck undid the intricate locks and deadbolts, finally opening the door almost a minute later.   
"I apologize for coming so late," the man at the cart managed, bowing his head. "Your order is number five-six-two?"   
Buck nodded. "Yeah."   
The man looked down at the cart, then picked up two foil-covered plates from it. "Here you are - two supreme pitas. Enjoy."   
"Thanks," Buck smiled, closing the door as the room service man went back on his rounds. He set the deadbolts in place before returning to the bed, placing one of the plates in front of Elecmon.   
"What's this?" Elecmon grumbled, poking at the foil with one of his claws.   
Buck sat down on the bed, across from Elecmon, and removed the foil from his plate. Beneath was a steaming fresh pita sandwich, filled with a chicken Caesar salad - minus the croutons, of course.   
"It's a pita bread sandwich," Buck muttered, taking his sandwich and shoving a bite into his mouth. "Take off the foil and see for yourself."   
Elecmon sighed. "If you say so." He clawed his way through the foil, finding the shreds of pita bread, lettuce, chicken and tin foil on top of his plate. "This is supposed to be a sandwich?" he asked, looking up at Buck.   
Buck looked down at the mess on Elecmon's plate, and had to force a bite down his throat in order to stifle a laugh. "That's what you get when you dig your way though tin foil, Elecmon," he chuckled as he chewed. "You're supposed to remove it gently from the plate."   
Elecmon stood up on his hind feet, looking up at Buck. "Oh." He picked up a piece of lettuce from his plate, taking care to pluck off any shreds of foil, and held it to his mouth. "Well, at least lettuce is better than nothing." He threw the piece into his mouth.   
Buck smiled, taking another bite into his sandwich. _At least he's happy, despite the circumstances_, he thought, watching as Elecmon threw handfuls of Caesar salad and pita bread into his mouth. _But how could I … with what's happened to me…?_   
He sighed, reluctantly taking another bite. Buck didn't think so much could happen in almost a month - learning he was a Chosen Child, finding Elecmon, meeting Parker, his transformation into the Guardian, loosing friends and family … his life was in turmoil as it was already; why should there be seven years more? He had presented his dilemma to Parker and Chloe at O'Hare Airport in Chicago earlier that day, before leaving for Jerusalem. 

_"Frank … I … I don't know…."   
"What is it, Buck?"   
"Frank - you've seen what's happened to me over the past few days. I don't deserve it - I don't deserve this!" Buck took out his Crest of Truth from behind his shirt.   
"Buck, I know you probably hate that thing - but it's done more good as a whole! You defeated that … dragon … and kept the truth about that United Nations meeting between us."   
"But Frank … I can't live with this for the rest of my life … even with our new employer…."   
Frank and Buck had strangely been hired by Nicolae Carpathia to work for his regime. Talmadge said it was a good idea - "It'd be nice to have some men on the inside," according to him. The interview with him was online, and it was rather one-sided - actually, Nicolae had only sent a single e-mail to Frank's address: _

Frank Parker and Cameron Williams,   
Now, I know who the hell you two are, and I know you know the true identities of me and my friend Delores. However, I like to keep my enemies very close. So, as of noon today, the two of you are under my employ. Frank, you are to be my personal pilot; Cameron, I give you charge of that newsmagazine that demoted you.   
I know, you ask yourselves, how can this be? But trust me, in the next three days, it will all come to pass.   
Sincerely,   
Nicolae Carpathia   
Secretary General of the United Nations 

"How are we going to work for him if he already goddamn knows that we're Chosen Children?" Buck had nearly burst out at the airport, tucking the Crest back underneath his shirt.   
"I've been undercover for ages, Buck," Frank smiled. "It's fun."   
"It'll be rather hard for me."   
"Listen, Buck - I doubt that the Guardian will take over you again. He's too weak, remember? You'll be fine."   
Frank had left the gate that separated the terminal from the ticket booking area, but Chloe had stayed behind. She had been quiet throughout the conversation - Buck doubted she knew much about the subject. Chloe had brought Hawkmon with her; the strange bird was cradled in her arms like a child's toy.   
"Buck, I'd just like you to know … well … I've seen what's happened to you before - on the D3. You know that much already. And I'm sorry about it, really. You don't deserve it."   
"So, what, you pity me?" Buck had gulped, looking down at the younger girl.   
"Oh, no! It's just that … I worry about you, Buck. That's all." 

Buck didn't really remember much about what happened after that moment. He recalled Chloe finding that her digivice was shining, only to discover that it had transformed into a D3 with a lavender handgrip. She even had a Holy Ring now on her right hand. _Maybe her pity had unlocked them_, Buck thought sullenly as he bit into his pita again. Besides, her Tag did read _Crest of Love_. But why pity a man nearly ten years her senior? 

Buck awoke the next morning to the sound of the television. He rubbed his eyes and clambered from the covers, finding Elecmon nestled at the foot of the bed, watching CNN. "You should see this, Buck," the digimon muttered, keeping his eyes on the television.   
Buck moved up to the foot of the bed and walked to the French doors that led to the balcony, opening them before settling himself before the television. Outside it looked like it was past noon (_Damn, I overslept!_ Buck thought) - meaning it was almost time for Ben to pick him up for the broadcast.   
Despite the lateness of the hour, Buck stared at the captions scrolling down the bottom of the screen: "Nicolae Carpathia, Secretary General of the UN, signs contract that gives him full ownership of every media outlet, including: Disney, Microsoft, Time-Warner-AOL, NBC, PBS, Fuji-TV, _Global Weekly_ newsmagazine, et al."   
"There goes your job, Buck," Elecmon grumbled, his eyes still on the screen.   
"Elecmon, you know that that stupid digimon gave me ownership of _Global Weekly_ … well, at least from now on." He sighed - the prospect of working for a digimon that had taken the world by storm still didn't settle well with him. "Was there anything else on the news?"   
"Nick's in town," Elecmon muttered. "Came here this morning on his new plane. Claims he got it from President Bush. And guess who's piloting it."   
For the first time that morning, Buck managed a smile. "Frank's coming?"   
Elecmon nodded. "Yep. Oh, yeah - I should also note that Nick signed something rather 'monumental'. I tried waking you up, but you're like a log when you sleep."   
"And what's that?"   
"He signed a peace treaty with Israel - it's supposed to last for seven years before renewal." Elecmon scoffed. "As if they ever will again."   
Buck continued to stare at the television unblinkingly. _The treaty lasts for seven years … and there will be seven years of darkness after the sounding of the Trumpet of Hope…._   
"Actually, I was kind of surprised you didn't wake up two hours ago," Elecmon muttered again, taking a remote into a clawed paw and pressing the power button. "I heard some yelling from the window - sounded like those two digimon we met yesterday."   
"Jijimon and Babamon?" Buck gasped, looking down at Elecmon. "But that can't be - the Wailing Wall is miles away!" _They must have a good speaker system_, he mused.   
"Buck, you have to expect this kind of thing from agents of the Supreme Deity." Elecmon climbed onto Buck's lap and rose to stand on his hind legs. "Anyway, they said, 'Thus starts the terrible week of darkness!'"   
"The terrible week of darkness," Buck mumbled. "The signing of the treaty marks the start of the Seven-Year Darkness…." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Ben Gurion Airport   
------------------------------------------------- 

Frank Parker walked out of the cockpit of the Boeing seven-seventy-seven, trying to fight the temptation to open his dress suit. Even in waning days of August, it was still like an oven in Jerusalem.   
Still, working undercover in Nicolae's regime had its perks. Parker had taken a quick course in operating a heavy jet - it wasn't much different from piloting the Sphere - and it hadn't taken much money out of his credit card. T_hank God for business-paid classes_, he told himself as he stepped onto the tarmac.   
Now on the dark asphalt, Parker wished he had stayed inside the air-conditioned lounge with Tentomon and his first officer, Montgomery MacCullum. Parker and Montgomery - Mac for short - had spent the past few hours in front of the big screen television, watching the treaty signing on CNN. When the two of them had heard the mysterious calling of the start of the terrible week, Parker had run to his private quarters.   
Tentomon had been sitting on the plush bed, looking up at Parker concernedly. "Frank, did you just hear that?" he buzzed silently, being sure to not make his voice carry to the lounge. Parker couldn't afford to have Mac know about the existence of his digimon - much less know about his Chosen Child status.   
Parker had nodded. "Yeah. So?"   
"Those two voices were of two legendary digimon prophets."   
"And…?"   
"Their names are Jijimon and Babamon - the ancient couple who proclaims the words of the Supreme Deity in times of trouble."   
Parker had shrugged. "So?"   
"They've proclaimed that the Seven-Year Darkness has started - officially."   
Parker scoffed. "I thought it started when that trumpet blew."   
"No … that was only to save the Chosen Children from this eventual fate. But according to legend, the two digimon prophets would choose two Chosen Children from the Golden Land and take host in their bodies so they could exist in this world."   
"Like … Buck and the Guardian?"   
Tentomon nodded. "Except these humans aren't conscious of what happens to them during the period they have allotted on Earth."   
Parker shrugged away the memory of the conversation. So there were more humans that could be possessed by digimon? _At least Buck isn't alone_, Parker thought, looking out at the rising heat that masked the golf cart speeding towards him. The chrononaut could make out the greased blond hair of Nicolae - the treaty delegation had finally returned.   
Parker ran back into the plane and ran to the lounge in the center of the plane. Mac was still in front of the television, which was still tuned to CNN. "Hey, Mac, start the takeoff checklist - the boss is back!"   
Mac rose from the beige leather couch he sat on and turned off the television. "Right, Captain. Don't want to get the boss angry." He ran past Parker towards the cockpit, taking out the pre-flight notebook and checking the gauges. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - CNN Jerusalem Branch   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck entered the green room adjacent to the main studio of the CNN branch office, surprised to find only Ben sitting on a couch across from the main entrance. From the way the light shone on his face, it looked like he had already gone through makeup. In the rabbi's lap was a booklet of notes, smelling like they had just been printed.   
"Ah, I see you were able to make it, Buck," Ben said, looking up at Buck. "Please, sit down."   
Buck shook his head. "Nah. That's alright." He looked around the room, finding a television mounted on the wall across from him. "You nervous about the telecast?"   
"Not at all," Ben shrugged. "I have my notes, and I have been rehearsing for the past week." He tilted his head to the side. "Your bag is missing. Where is Elecmon?"   
"I left it at the hotel - I was afraid security would check it if I brought it along."   
Ben smiled. "Good choice. Security had to search my folder, thought I had some kind of plans in it."   
Buck was about to answer when a girl in a casual business suit barged her way into the door. "Rabbi Ben-Judah, five minutes till airtime. We'd like you out for prep."   
Ben stood from his couch and walked to the door. "Guess it's time to say good-bye again," he smiled. "Are you staying after the airing?"   
"No - I'm going to my hotel, then leaving for the States again." Buck sighed. "Don't you plan on coming, too?"   
"Maybe someday, Buck - but not now." He turned towards the woman, who had started to tap her toes in steady rhythm. "I'll arrange a meeting, all right?"   
Buck shrugged. "Sure." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Nicolae's jet, somewhere over the Mediterranean   
------------------------------------------------- 

Clear skies and a smooth runway had made the takeoff of the now-christened _Global Community One_ a breeze for Parker and Mac. Now miles above the earth, Parker looked over at his copilot, who was maneuvering the plane with ease over the clouds covering the Mediterranean Ocean below.   
_This is nothing like piloting the Sphere_, Parker thought with a smile, leaning back in his chair. "So, Mac, how are things going?"   
The burly man next to him shrugged, keeping his eyes on the instrument panel before him. His fiery hair was threatening to cover his faceted emerald eyes. "I can take it from here, Frank. You still want to watch that broadcast from that rabbi from Israel?"   
Parker had told Mac about the telecast - and obviously made a point that he wanted to view it. But knowing his employer, there was no chance Parker was even going to get access into the lounge. "Sure. Holler when anything goes wrong."   
With some difficulty, Parker slid out of his leather padded seat, taking care to remove his earphones, and exited through the reinforced cockpit door. He bolted the door, then made his way down a corridor through the conference area before reaching the spacious lounge.   
As expected, Nicolae was seated on a couch before the big-screen television, remote control in hand. A gaggle of advisors, all in similar suit and tie, had crowded around the man, their attention drawn the murmuring man on the screen. Parker walked further into the room, hoping to get a good vantage point without Nicolae's notice.   
The man on the screen looked to be bordering forty, with a graying beard upon his chin. He wore the traditional skullcap of a rabbi on his head, and from the looks of it, he seemed to be wearing a conservative suit as well. The man had his eyes boring into his worldwide audience, his message scrolling across the bottom of the screen in English.   
"An interesting man, this Tsion Ben-Judah," Nicolae mused, reclining into his seat. "Talking about the identity of the Jewish messiah … I wonder what kind of ratings this would get."   
Parker's eyes shrunk in surprise. The man on the television was Tsion Ben-Judah, the last Chosen Child? Compared to himself and the others, this rabbi was … ancient.   
"Good afternoon, Captain Parker," Nicolae greeted, causing Parker to snap his head towards him. "I see you have decided to watch this broadcast, as well. How is Officer MacCullum doing?"   
"He's piloting _Global Community One_ to Dulles, as planned," Parker nodded, trying his best to look polite. _He may be my boss, but that doesn't mean I have to be nice._ "Permission to sit down, sir?"   
Nicolae patted the empty space on the couch to his right. "Permission granted. Captain Parker, you need not be so formal around me."   
_That's the first time anybody's told me not to act formal_, Parker mused, taking his seat on the far side of the couch. He leaned back and looked at the screen, watching as Rabbi Ben-Judah showed sources from where his team of religious experts had gathered information. "Now, as according to Jewish religious text, the Faithful and True one is to be a man, destined by God to be the ruler of the nations. He will be killed by his own people…." Parker stopped paying attention at that point. Why bother to watch a program that went in such detail in a controversial subject? Finding the Jewish messiah wasn't something that really pertained to Parker - and if this was what the rabbi wanted to tell Buck, then there was no doubt that the journalist would be uninterested, too. Yet there was that term the rabbi incessantly used: _The Faithful and True one….   
The Faithful and True was destined to bring peace between the Earth and Digital World … and instead his death brought their separation_, Parker recalled, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. _But the rabbi … he believes that this man has not come yet. Darkness has fallen on this world already - would the Faithful and True make the world emerge from that?_   
Maybe this was a subject worth Buck's attention - and Parker's. In feigned boredom Parker rested his head in his hands, staring intently at the screen for an answer. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - CNN Jerusalem Branch   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck looked down at his watch and sighed. He had planned to check out of the hotel by three in the afternoon. It was already two-thirty, halfway through Ben's telecast. The rabbi was dragging on about the identity of the Faithful and True one, a prolonged rehash of Jijimon and Babamon's discussion from last night. Convinced there was no more reason to stay and watch the end, Buck made his way out of the green room and down the hall that would lead to the nearest exit. He was sorry to disappoint Ben this way, by not watching the show through … but there was no reason to learn what he already knew. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Nicolae's jet, somewhere over the Mediterranean   
------------------------------------------------- 

The plane had passed over the Strait of Gibraltar when the aged rabbi on the television finally shut his notebook. Fifty-five minutes of research and prophecies had nearly put Parker to sleep, but Nicolae's cook had sent him a bottle of dark lager at regular intervals. Parker didn't know how the cook knew he liked beer - _but then_, he thought, _it should be obvious._   
Now the rabbi seemed to be wrapping up. He scrolled through the prophecies again - all one hundred and six, as Parker recalled - before stating his brief conclusion.   
"I asked a mathematician what the odds were for one man to have fulfilled all these prophecies. He said that there was almost a billion-to-one chance that any one man could have fulfilled them all. And according to ancient texts, I and my team have come to a conclusion as to who this man is."   
"I bet he will proclaim himself as this messiah," Nicolae scoffed, taking a glass of seltzer water from a tray held by a young server. "That would be a laugh."   
_Damn ignorant digimon, trying to make a joke at the wrong time_, Parker grumbled to himself, taking a swig from the newest bottle the cook had handed him.   
The voice on the television continued on, ignoring the banter that filled the airplane's lounge.   
"This man is…."   
The proclamation was sharp enough to make Nicolae spew out his seltzer water. 

{ 'Til the End of the World, ending animation, and credits play } 

NEXT TIME ON _DIGITAL CONUNDRUM_   
Eighteen months is a long time ... and much happens for the Chosen Children. But this lull in the Digital Conundrum ends with a violent death, a nuclear attack on American soil, and the unearthing of many mysteries. Parker reunites with a former friend from Backstep, but why was he hired by Nicolae in the first place? And why does a new ally of the Chosen Children seem to have more than a crush with the digimon that rules over the world?   
In the meanwhile, Buck gets a cryptic message from Ben, who needs some assistance for a strange mission. But this road trip holds more for these two Chosen Children than they imagined! Who is the mysterious digimon that appears to the two of them in Israel? And what are the gifts she brings to them? Find out in Backstep 16: _Spirit Evolution! The Gift of Sakuyamon_!

* * *

A/N: You can definitely tell where I edited the story! Yes, Ben's answer will remain hidden, because I'm afraid that if I ever did post a name, a whole lot of people will be out to hurt me. (Oh, the problems of writing fics in the _Left Behind_ universe....) However, I do have something that may tide your disquiet ... the animation that goes with the new ending theme, _'Til the End of the World_! So, yeah, here it is below.... 

_'Til the End of the World_ (TV-size)   
performed by: Clay Crosse 

[intro] 

{Like in animation for _Itsumo Itsudemo_, the faces of the Chosen Children (Frank, Buck, Chloe, Ben) appear on a background like that of a starry sky. When the intro melody repeats, their partners appear. After the last digimon appears, a bright light shows in the center of the screen, revealing the shadow of a man (revealed in the final chapters of the story).} 

In a world where people come and go   
In a place where no one ever stays   
The greatest friend you'll ever know   
Is the one who will not walk away 

{Screen turns parchment color. With each line, a different Chosen Child, his/her partner and all evolutions appear. They are shown in this order: Frank, Buck, Chloe, and Ben. Frank's images slide from the right, Buck's from the left, and so forth.} 

I could hold you with the strongest arms   
I could hear you in a silent prayer   
And I could feel your deepest scars   
I would stand beside you anywhere 

{Silver-white background - camera moves upwards to show the Guardian holding Buck, raising him into the sky. Fade out to Ophanimon, who turns her head to the sky. Fade to a scarred, masculine hand - camera moves up to show it's the Faithful and True. A shadow of a man stands with his back to FT - he is revealed in final chapters.} 

If you believe in me, I will be with you   
'Til the end of the world   
If you believe in me, I will be with you   
'Til the end of the world   
'Til the end of the world.... 

{Like in animation for _Innocent ~ Mujaki na Mama de ~_, an image of the world is shown, with Frank, Buck, Chloe, and Ben superimposed one-by-one over it. Sun rises over top of the earth - fade to the digimon looking out expectantly like in _Days - Aijou to Nichijou -_ animation. The Chosen Children appear behind their partners, also looking out hopefully towards the audience, with the crumbled remnant of the world as the background. As the last line is sung, the Faithful and True appears in the sky behind the Children.} 

THERE!!! I hope that made you forget that this was an edited chapter! Don't worry, this is probably the last controversial thing that occurs in this fic until its very end ... so no more edited chapters! Until next time, wait for the next exciting installment of _Digital Conundrum_! 


	29. Spirit Evolution! The Gift of Sakuyamon

[I'm sorry for the major delay! School has been evil, summer school has been evil, but I've finally managed to finish this chapter! Right now I should apologize for having nukes go off in major American cities in the chapter, and for putting our president in the line of fire - but this is what happens after watching _The Sum of All Fears_ when writing a chapter....   
[Now for the disclaimer ... GCNN is a made-up company, the _Condor 216_ is a plane from _Left Behind_, so obviously I don't own it, and I apparently don't own Learjets. And I'm just an avid Lakers fan - if I owned them, I wouldn't be writing this. And the Spirit Evolution business is a byproduct of my new obsession with _Digimon Frontier_. And for you younger readers, Frank and Buck start cursing their hearts out, so I caution you....] 

{ VERSION UP and starting animation plays.... } 

Backstep 16   
Spirit Evolution! The Gift of Sakuyamon 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - the Center   
Time - between ten and eighteen months since start of Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

The months had not been kind to the gateway that led to the Golden Land. The two remaining portals that were open - the Earth and Digital World gateways - were clouding with dark shadows, dimming the brilliant light of the circular room.   
　A green light flowed from a spot on the dais, engulfing a robed figure standing limply at a military attention. A silver miter shielded his eyes from the darkness that surrounded the room, and an ivory sword was held to his side. For what seemed like ages in the Center, the Guardian had stood on the engraving of the Crest of Hope, waiting for the time when his strength would be regained. The darkness swallowing the Center would almost kill him, he knew ... only the power from the remaining Chosen Children's Crests had kept this small area on the dais lit.   
　_Holy Angemon, Guardian of the Center, awake...._   
　The Guardian rose his head at the sound. He turned his head, soon finding the source of the summons. A familiar angel was standing on the intricate design on the center of the dais, her lance held in her gauntleted hand.   
　"Ophanimon, Archangel of the Eastern Gate," the Guardian lowed, his voice husky, no longer echoing in the vast room. "What brings you here? It has not been three years yet."   
　"It is time for you to return to your partner," the Archangel whispered, taking a step towards the Guardian. "He has been waiting for you."   
　"My ... partner?" the Guardian asked, uncertainty playing on his mouth. "But ... he's ... in the-"   
　"No," Ophanimon interrupted; "Ben. Remember?"   
　The Guardian bowed his head. "I do." He looked up again at the Archangel. "But why now? It's too early!"   
　"There have been complications."   
　"But ... you told me to protect Cameron!" The Guardian took a step outside of the lighted area, steadying himself with his sword. The darkness that he had shielded himself from was immediately taking its toll, making the Guardian gasp as he fought to breathe. He tried to look at Ophanimon, tried to grasp her last words.   
　"And you will be with him," the Archangel snapped. "I will guarantee that."   
　With those words, the Archangel vanished in a blue flash from the room.   
　The Guardian sighed and stepped back into the green aura that rose from the floor. He inhaled deeply, feeling his meager strength flow anew through his body. There was no way he would want to go back to Earth, not in the state he was in. Yet the words of the Archangel were a direct order, and he had no choice but to follow.   
　"Sakuyamon, come hither," he gasped.   
　"I come anon," a sultry voice echoed from the deep shadows of the room.   
　The Guardian looked ahead, finding the armored sorceress standing immediately before him. He had chosen the digimon as his assistant, had sent her to gather information at various times since he had discovered her. Now the digimon lowed her head in reverence, her fox head-shaped helm glinting with the emerald light from the aura.   
　"What have you summoned me for, Guardian?" the sorceress asked, raising her head and placing her bronze staff at a ready position before her. She managed a smile on her purple-tinted lips.   
　"It is time for me to return to Earth," the Guardian whispered, bowing his head. "You know what to do."   
　Sakuyamon nodded and stepped back. "As you say."   
　Now standing on the design in the center of the dais, Sakuyamon raised her head towards the ceiling, keeping her staff before her body. She opened her mouth, uttering the words of an ancient song in a language that had been lost to humanity. A breeze of cherry blossom petals formed around her, adding an amethyst tint to the dark room.   
　"Spirit of Hope, summoned to defend the Center, I call upon you ... awake!" She swept her staff in a wide arc before her, petals fleeing from the pink trail left in the staff's wake. "Kongoukai Mandala!"   
　The nexus of Sakuyamon's spell floated towards the Guardian, ensnaring the angel in its center. In a flash of white light, the Guardian's brilliant robes, his helm, and his sword burned away from his body, leaving behind the emaciated humanoid form that it hid. Without even the energy to scream, the Guardian collapsed head-first to the ground, the light from the dais and Sakuyamon's spell fading into the darkness.   
　Sakuyamon laid low her staff and extended her left hand. A burst of light flickered inside, vanishing immediately to reveal a miniature dais with a model of the Guardian's robes placed on top. Digital Hieroglyphs encircled the edges of the dais, repeating the name of the item.   
　"The Spirit of Hope," Sakuyamon breathed, looking down at the moaning Guardian before her. "Guardian, are you all right?"   
　Unable to speak, the darkness of the Center overcame the Guardian, causing his shrunken form to revert.... 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Mount Prospect, Chicago, Illinois, USA   
Time - twelve months since start of Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

The black Corvette convertible stopped in front of the Steele residence, where the semi-circular driveway met the house's main entrance. Buck emerged from the driver's side door, lifting his head to the twilight sky. He had had a long drive from O'Hare Airport, with all the evening rush traffic clogging the freeways and the El. Buck could only thank his Carpathia International Bank card for enabling him to rent his luxurious ride - it was one of the special cards with no spending limit that his boss only gave to high members in his regime.   
　Buck was still disgusted that his journalistic outfit, the newly-renamed _Global Community Weekly_, had been bought out by that world-conquering digimon. Yet being the head publisher of one of North America's major printed-media sources came with its perks: much higher pay, flexible hours, the ability to choose the stories he could write ... if this wasn't the Seven-Year Darkness, Buck would have been in heaven already.   
　The only drawback was that Buck had to move back to New York City. With his extravagant paycheck, Buck had moved back into his apartment and had it fully refurbished. But he felt so alone in Manhattan; Elecmon was his only company, and the other Chosen Children had seemed to take their separate ways. Parker now lived in Babylon - now known after a major rebuilding project as New Babylon - which was much closer to Nicolae than Buck could handle. Ben was still living in Jerusalem, and Chloe still lodged at the Steele residence. As for the senior staff of Backstep, Buck had no idea where they were - last he knew, they had moved into the subterranean shelter of the nearby New Hope Church. _I wonder why they would hide out in a church_, Buck had asked himself constantly over the past year, but so far he hadn't found an answer.   
　With a sigh, Buck pulled out his leather bag from the back seat and slung it over his shoulder. He could hear a muffled complaint from inside, but Buck had grown accustomed to Elecmon's rants over his traveling conditions. Ignoring the digimon, Buck walked up to the front door of the house and rang the doorbell. Synthesized bell tones echoed through the house, followed by footsteps running up to the door.   
　"Buck?" a female voice called out from behind the door.   
　"Yeah, it's me," Buck replied calmly.   
　The door creaked open, revealing Chloe in torn jeans, a t-shirt a few sizes too small that boasted the words CLEVELAND ROCKS, and the jacket she wore the day Buck had first met her. High straw sandals were on her feet, giving view to her blue-painted toenails. Close behind the girl was Hawkmon, flapping his wings hurriedly to keep himself aloft.   
　"I can't believe you've finally got here!" Chloe exclaimed, jumping towards Buck, wrapping her arms around the man's body. "It's been almost a year! Frank and I have been waiting forever!!"   
　Buck pulled the girl from him, keeping her restrained an arm's length away. He wasn't fond of Chloe's immaturity, nor her habit of running into his arms. "Wait a moment there, Chloe - you say that Frank's here?"   
　"Sure," Chloe shrugged. "Got here through the Digital Gateway."   
　_Damn, why didn't I think of that?_ Buck grumbled inwardly as he followed Chloe into the house. He heard a click sound behind him - apparently Hawkmon had closed the door. "So, where's Frank?"   
　"He's in the kitchen, microwaving dinner."   
　"Really? Let me guess, he's making instant ramen."   
　Chloe giggled, but immediately stifled it with her hand. "How did you know?"   
　"Trust me, it's all we eat when we're together."   
　The two of them had entered the kitchen, lit by a single hanging lamp in the room's center. Parker was sitting at the dining table, Tentomon on his lap. The chrononaut was wearing his casual flight suit, only worn when he was away from his employer. He had tied a white apron over it - _I guess even that has to be dry cleaned_, Buck thought.   
　"Hey, look who came!" Parker exclaimed, standing from his seat. Tentomon flew out of the way as his partner stood up. "How have you been?"   
　"Just fine," Buck smiled. He opened his leather bag, allowing Elecmon to finally jump onto the linoleum floor below. "I finally got those stitches on my back out over a year ago."   
　"Hey, if I hadn't reminded you, they'd still be there," Elecmon scolded, rising to his hind legs.   
　"Thanks for telling them that," Buck mumbled, averting his eyes from his partner. Sometimes Elecmon could act so smart - it was even more so these days. "Anyway, the job's fine - I've managed to visit my family in Arizona."   
　"You got the time to travel?" Parker burst, his eyes widening at the statement. "Damn you, I wish I were the publisher of a magazine!"   
　"The travel's the only fun part of it. My brother got to meet Elecmon - and surprisingly grew quite kindly to him. As for my dad ...."   
　"What?" Chloe and Parker asked, more or less in unison.   
　"Well ... he just said 'hi'. That's it. He's just too busy with his business."   
　"Oh," Parker muttered. "Well, I made you all ramen - it's in the microwave right now." He walked over to the microwave situated over the stove near the refrigerator. "There's enough for all of you."   
　"Thanks, Frank," Buck smiled. "Well, do you think that after we eat we can visit Owsley and the others?"   
　"You know, I was thinking of doing that tonight." Parker opened the microwave and balanced three steaming plastic bowls of ramen on his hands as he pulled them out. "Sure, I wouldn't mind going after we eat." 

New Hope Village Church was just like its name - built in the style of the country churches of rural Connecticut, its whitewashed walls melted seamlessly with the leaded stained-glass windows depicting religious scenes. The church was on a street corner, with a parking lot behind it and the offices and classroom complex surrounding the other sides of the lot. In the newly-born night, a lone beam of light streamed from a window in the church proper.   
　"Bruce isn't here today?" Parker groaned, standing in front of the desk in the resident pastor's auxiliary office. A note was on the cleared desk: _On ministry in Asia, be back in a few months._   
　"Again?" Chloe leaned on the desk, taking the note into her hands. "That's just convenient. And right when we were going to introduce him to you, Buck!"   
　The journalist, standing in the doorway, just shrugged. "That's all right. I'd rather talk to Owsley and the others, if you don't mind."   
　"Sure." Parker turned towards the door and walked out. "The shelter entrance is in the basement. Come on."   
　The basement was accessible through a broom closet just across the hall from Bruce's office. Hidden behind a vacuum cleaner was a trap door set into the floor; lifting that would reveal a staircase made of inexpensive timbers, leading to an electrical box littered with HIGH VOLTAGE stickers.   
　"_This_ is the secret shelter?" Buck exclaimed, looking into the closet, eyes wide. "You've got to be kidding me. Where's Owsley?"   
　"Buck, we're not even inside it yet," Parker chuckled. "Get down here." He pulled up the vacuum cleaner, revealing the dark stairway to the electrical box below. A single exposed light bulb flickered over the box. Pulling his arms close to his body, the chrononaut wiggled into the trapdoor entrance, easing his way down the steps. Once he was at the bottom, he signaled for Buck to follow.   
　"Frank, I don't get it," Buck managed, feeling his way down the narrow stairwell. His clothes were getting dusty, and despite his massive paycheck, there was no way he was going to go to the dry cleaners again. "There's nothing here."   
　Parker opened the electrical box, revealing a wall of on-off switches. "These switches are wired to the door. Flip the right ones in the right order, you'll get access. If you don't, you'll just get zapped." He flipped three switches deftly, each of them going off with a clunk.   
　As the last switch was activated, the wall where the box was bolted on to swung inwardly. Inside was a cubicle, with two bunk beds opposite the entrance and a table with folding metal chairs occupying the rest of the space. The concrete and metal room was only enlivened by a stack of playing cards on the table. A door to the right side of the cubicle was opened, an electrical whirring issuing from it.   
　"Whoa, this is neat," Buck gasped, eyes roving around the room. "I assume Owsley's in that other room there?" He pointed at the opened door.   
　"Don't worry fellas, I'm here." Andrew Owsley rolled into the room on a wheel-mounted computer chair, maneuvering himself over to the shelter's entrance. "Buck, Frank, it's been a while since I've seen you."   
　"Same here," Buck smiled. "So, where's everyone else?"   
　Owsley shrugged. "Talmadge is sleeping in the operations room" - he pointed at the door from which he entered - "and Ramsey is at a technician's house planning on another shelter."   
　"What do we need another shelter for?" Parker barked. "This one is just fine!"   
　"Hey, we can't put all of our computer equipment in here," Owsley argued. "The larger shelter could hold more of our electrical gizmos, plus give us larger storage and living space. That would be helpful if the world goes to hell in a basket."   
　Buck nodded. "So, uh, where's Donovan?"   
　Owsley's eyes almost bulged from his sockets. "You haven't heard?"   
　"Heard what?"   
　"About Nicolae's new assistant?"   
　"If you're talking about that girl Frank and I saw at the UN meeting, then yes."   
　"Nope." Owsley shook his head from side to side like a pendulum. "Nicolae considers him his second in command. His name is Leon Fortunato."   
　_That name sounds familiar_, Buck shrugged. "What's that got to do with Donovan?"   
　"Buck ... Leon _is_ Donovan."   
　"So, what, he's going undercover that far deep in the regime?"   
　"Well, come on, he could get some decent information on Nicolae," Parker argued. "Besides, he's the best at these things."   
　"I'll trust you on that," Buck said. He looked down at his watch. "Oh, great - it's almost eleven. I have to leave for the airport now."   
　"You're leaving already?" Parker exclaimed. "But you just got here!"   
　"I have a meeting tomorrow. But I'll be sure to arrange another reunion sometime soon, alright?"   
　Parker sighed. "All right. Well, good night, Andrew."   
　"Hey, no problem," the young computer specialist hollered back as the men walked off. "Thanks for dropping by!" The door in front of him eased back into its closed position as he rolled back to the computer lab.   
　"Damn, I hope we didn't make Chloe wait too long in the office," Parker grumbled, emerging from the broom closet. He helped Buck out of the trapdoor and watched as he closed both the trapdoor and the closet shut.   
　"Don't worry, you weren't out long." Chloe was standing in the office doorway, a paper in her hands. It looked as if some handwriting was on it. "Oh, and Frank, some woman named Raven told me to give this to you."   
　"Just my luck," Parker grumbled, walking up to Chloe and seizing the paper from her hands. He eyed the paper for a few seconds before crumpling it up. He managed a three-pointer into the trashcan by Bruce's desk.   
　"What is it?" Buck asked, advancing to Parker's side.   
　"Raven is a former thief from England," the chrononaut explained; "I met her last year. After losing her partner in those disappearances, she came here, and now she runs the church Bible study." He sighed. "And now she wants me to have lunch with her." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Time - eighteen months since start of Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

_Cameron Williams,   
　You have been cordially invited to the wedding of Francis Bartholomew Parker and Raven Dunn. The ceremony is at four in the afternoon, at New Hope Village Church, Mount Prospect, Illinois. This is a private ceremony, do not bring anyone else._

Such was the note that Buck received in an e-mail from Parker while he was in Washington. Buck had interviewed the President of the United States - no more a leader than the Queen of England. Now with Nicolae in the seat of global power, what use was there for the president?   
　President Bush had been, in the past, just another president. He had the power, the clout, the influence to make it to the highest office of the nation. Yet now he was stripped of all that - stripped of plane, of control, of even the White House. And all he had left were four Secret Service agents and an office in the FBI headquarters.   
　The interview was, in fact, very brief. "Cameron, can I trust you with something?"   
　Buck had shrugged. "Yes, Mr. President."   
　"You have to get out of Washington immediately after this interview. Stay out of any cities on the East Coast. I suggest you go as far west as Montana. You'll be safe there."   
　"Safe? From what?"   
　The President ignored the question. "Today I'll make Secretary-General - excuse me, I mean, _Potentate_ - Carpathia learn his place. He may have taken the world by storm, but he won't get America, I'll guarantee that."   
　The e-mail had come after the interview, while he was at the airport. Remembering President Bush's advice, he found an abandoned computerized ticket-ordering console and used his D3 to open a Digital Gateway to the Steele residence. 

Chloe and Buck were the only witnesses to the wedding - unless Tentomon, Elecmon, and Hawkmon could be counted as witnesses as well. As sunset marched over the suburbs of Chicago, Bruce Barnes - the pastor of the church - recited the customary questions before Parker and the woman he had chosen as his wife.   
　Raven was nothing short of lovely. Dressed in a simple white dress, and her dark hair tied behind her back, the Irish high-scale thief smiled simply as Parker slipped a golden band onto a finger on her left hand. She did the same to Parker's, being sure it was not on the same finger as his Holy Ring.   
　Then, of course, came the kiss. Parker bent his head down towards Raven's, cradling her face in his hands, and seemed to melt his lips with hers. Slight applause ensued from the scant audience as the newlyweds broke apart and turned towards Chloe and Buck.   
　"How about that, Frank?" Buck smiled, shaking Parker's hand. "You're a married man now."   
　"Well, Raven and I have drawn close over the past six months," the chrononaut laughed. "And if this lull is short-lived ... then I guess this is the best time to tie the knot."   
　"Trust me, for a time of darkness, this doesn't seem all that bad." He looked over Parker's shoulder, seeing Raven fraternizing with Chloe and Hawkmon. "Say, could you introduce me to Raven? I don't believe I've met her yet."   
　Parker nodded. He walked over to Raven and tapped her shoulder gently. "Hey, Raven - I'd like to introduce you to somebody."   
　"Really?" The woman had a thick Irish accent, sounding almost like another language. "If you're talking about that man there, I already know about him."   
　"You do?" He turned back to Buck, seeing his friend's eyes widen slightly. "How?"   
　"I got the _Global Weekly_ - excuse me, _Global Community Weekly_ - while I lived in London. Read all his stories. He's quite a writer - but from what I can tell, he's better in the flesh." She winked, letting an eyelash fall over one of her violet eyes. "I'm Raven." She moved away from Parker and extended a slender hand towards Buck.   
　Buck took out his own and grasped Raven's firmly. "I'm Cameron - but you may call me Buck. Everyone does."   
　"Buck," Raven repeated, releasing her hand from the journalist's. "And I assume that that stuffed animal on the pew is yours?"   
　"Hey, I'm not a stuffed animal," Elecmon grumbled, standing on his hind legs to face Raven. "I'm Elecmon."   
　"Oh, I'm sorry. Frank keeps on calling you and those other things stuffed animals, and even gave you names." She turned back towards Parker, seeing Tentomon hovering by his head. "Guess I was proved wrong."   
　"I think you were," Buck laughed. "Are you having dinner after this?"   
　"Frank reserved a table at the Drake for tonight. I think we should get going."   
　Buck nodded and picked up Elecmon. "Sounds like a good idea." 

The freeways leading to downtown Chicago were crowded, as they usually were during the evening rush. Squeezing Chloe's Lincoln sedan into the heavy traffic, Parker flipped on the radio, hoping to get some music. Of course, all the radio played those days were hits almost five years old - there was a serious lacking of artists willing to record.   
　"This is exciting," Buck muttered, leaning into the padded back seat of the car. Elecmon was sleeping on his lap, head resting near Tentomon's dozing body. "We're stuck in traffic."   
　"But the traffic isn't like this at this time of day," Chloe mused, looking out the window, holding Hawkmon on her lap. Being behind the driver, she could easily see the traffic inch before her eyes. "It's always moving somewhat - never at a standstill. Something must be wrong."   
　"Damn, all I keep on getting are these news reports!" Parker cursed, pressing the SEEK button on the radio. "There has to be some sort of music!!"   
　"Frank, there's news on for a reason," Raven soothed, bringing an arm around her husband. "Just switch it onto CNN."   
　Reluctantly, Parker switched the dial to AM and pressed a button preset to CNN - which, after Nicolae's media takeover, had been renamed GCCNN. A female voice was speaking over some sort of chaos in the background.   
　_This is just terrible...! A United States Nike Base has exploded in Des Plaines, taking out Des Plaines Memorial Hospital ... apparently United States militiamen have stored contraband weapons there, and something must have made them go off. Global Community Peacekeeping Forces are here securing the area. Traffic to the area has been stopped up...._   
　"Oh, shoot!" Parker cursed, looking back towards his passengers. "And Bruce left during our reception to secure our reservations - and he always drives by the hospital! Chloe, can we get to the hospital from here?"   
　"I think so," the girl shrugged. "If we manage to get this car off the highway and through all the street traffic, I think we can. Besides, this highway doesn't go over any streets for a while, so you can just drive off."   
　"Good idea." Parker turned hard on the steering wheel, throwing the passengers in the car towards the passenger side as he drove off the freeway and onto the side streets.   
　The side streets were even worse off than the highway. Cars lined up in rank and file down the streets, and drivers yelled out curses over the cacophony of car horns, emergency broadcast system tones, air-raid sirens, and the occasional news station. Attempting to avoid as much traffic as possible, Parker drove on the sidewalks and lawns, speeding his way towards-   
　"A road block!" Buck warned, in time enough for Parker to halt the car before a camouflage-fatigued soldier guarding a barrier of orange plastic barrels. The blue helmet on his head marked him as a Global Community Peacekeeper. Dusting off his darkly tanned face, the soldier approached the driver's door and rapped on the window.   
　Parker had enough experience with the NSA to know that the solder wanted him to lower the window. He pressed a button, letting the window slide down. "What do you want?"   
　"This is a restricted zone," the soldier barked. "No admittance without authorization."   
　Parker sighed, digging his hand into his pants pocket. Even in his dress suit, he still managed to keep his official Global Community Worker's Identification on him - not to mention his D3 as well. He pulled out his wallet and flipped to his identification card. The soldier pulled close to inspect it.   
　"Hmm ... clearance level 2-A ... you must work for Carpathia himself, eh?" The soldier chuckled. "Well, you can enter. I assume the rest of you have identification, too?"   
　Buck reached into a hidden pocket in his leather jacket and pulled out his wallet, exposing his official Identification. "Here - same clearance as the driver."   
　The soldier nodded. "I trust you. You can get out of the car and get to where you're going - we can't allow vehicles in there."   
　Parker nodded and opened his door. "All right." He slammed the door and ran to the barrels, moving a few aside so he could get through. Ahead he could see a few buildings smoldering in the distance, the smoke rising into the air against the setting sun. It would be a long run from the barrier to the ruins, but he had to make sure that Bruce - the only man knew of the government agents hiding beneath his church - was still alive. Who knew what secrets could be pulled from him, if any military reached him?   
　Footsteps made their way to Parker's ears. He turned, finding Buck standing just a few feet away, panting. "Parker ... I should come, too."   
　The chrononaut shook his head. "No. I may be in formal clothes, but I would rather you stay with the women. Besides, what if you transform into the Guardian in front of all those soldiers - assuming that there are soldiers by that hospital? We can't have all those people find out!"   
　Buck nodded - he had almost forgotten about his bond with the Guardian, after over a year of not taking his form. "I see. Well, I'll just be at the car, then." He turned back towards the roadblock, hands shoved into his pants as he walked away.   
　Parker sighed. _I know he could be of help_, he thought, _but the risk is too great for him if the army finds out._ Facing the ruins again, Parker ran out towards them, hoping that with his every step he would find some sign of life on this far side of the roadblock.   
　Yet every step closer to ground zero, the signs seemed bleak. The area was residential, and it looked like the Peacekeepers had already evacuated the area after the blast. Closer to the ruins, Parker could see cars with their tires in the air, their occupants already freed by authorities. Some Peacekeepers were patrolling the area, standing stubbornly at attention as Parker sped by. Why weren't they trying to help anybody else out in this abandoned suburb?   
　Smoke growing thick before his eyes, Parker soon realized why. The hospital before him was nothing more than a bombed out shell as he barged through the veils of smoke, bodies strewn neatly out in rows like a sleeping army. Soldiers had abandoned the area - there was no helping those that were dead.   
　"This can't be," Parker gasped, stopping before what would have been the hospital's lawn. "No ... this ... can't be...."   
　Cars had piled grotesquely over each other, blown away from their daily commute. It was too musty, too dark to figure out which one was Bruce's. Parker thought he could see his crushed totally beneath what may have been an SUV - he could see an arm clothed in a formal black sleeve jutting limply from a window. Blood caked on it in globules, a sign of such serious bleeding that the victim could never have survived long enough for help.   
　"No...." Parker muttered, staggering away from the scene. He may have seen death en masse in his days in the Marines, back in Samoa ... but never had he dreamed to encounter so much after such a long time! That was why the Sphere - and Project Back-step - had been created for ... to prevent all of this from happening - ever! But it had been over seven days since those disappearances ... and the Sphere was locked up in its hanger in Nevada, along with a warehouse's worth of weapons....   
　And if the Peacekeepers ever found out about that stockpile - like they easily did with this one in Chicago - what were the chances of ever having this world come back to normal...?   
　As he ran back to Chloe's car by the roadblock, tears streaming down his face, the Peacekeepers holding guard by the road roused themselves to attention, blank eyes showing indifference to the chrononaut's pain. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - underground shelter, New Hope Village Church   
------------------------------------------------- 

Owsley was browsing the Internet as the wedding ceremony took place just overhead. Nobody updated websites anymore, except for government and news sites and - as expected - a couple sites dedicated to the cause of the disappearances that occurred a few months ago. The computer specialist was actually looking at one of the sites just now, and could not help but stifle his laughter at the material.   
　"Look at this," he droned; "this guy thinks that the cast of _Star Trek_ beamed up all of those people onto the _Enterprise_!"   
　"What a nut," Ramsey snarled from the other side of the room, staring intently at an array of television screens before him. Hidden cameras scattered around the church showed the dispersing reception and Bruce slipping out of the parking lot in his white Nissan sedan. "Must've watched too much _Star Trek_."   
　"You said it," Talmadge murmured, leaning back into a lounge chair before a television. Though the shelter was soundproof, the former project director kept the sound muted as he watched GCNN. Stocks were scrolling down the bottom of the screen - despite a much smaller global population, a bull market dominated the Dow. "Now if there were only some decent news...."   
　"Yeah...." Owsley exhaled slowly, leaning towards his computer. He waved the mouse over the screen to access a link when the cursor halted in the middle of its path. "Hey, what's going on here?"   
　"What is it this time, Andrew?" Ramsey bellowed from his post, turning his chair to face the younger man. "Get another missive from Donovan in the middle of work?"   
　Owsley shook his head. "No ... the computer's locked up ... it's never frozen before...."   
　The computer screen turned dark, erasing the image of the website Owsley was looking at. Two words in bold, red capital letters filled the screen.   
　DIGITAL CONUNDRUM.   
　"Oh, shoot," Owsley muttered. "I totally forgot...."   
　"What?" Ramsey stood from his chair and marched to Owsley's side. He bent down his face towards the screen.   
　"Remember over a year ago, when Parker showed us the disk that had those im-ges of the angel and those objects?"   
　"Yeah," Ramsey spat. "So?"   
　"Well ... I kinda left it in my computer. And I forgot about it when we were moving equipment and everything ... I didn't think that it would start up again on its own!"   
　"That's just great," Ramsey sighed. "Oh well, we already know what the hell's on that thing. Just shut the damn thing off."   
　Owsley shook his head. "I can't."   
　"Why not?" Ramsey turned red, even to the expanding bald spot on his head.   
　"Because ... something's loading up on it...."   
　The words DIGITAL CONUNDRUM flashed off the screen, replaced almost immediately by words scrolling in boldface white capital letters.   
　"Talmadge," Owsley stammered, "I think you have to read this…."   
　"Just read it out loud," Talmadge muttered, reaching for his cigar humidifier box on a nearby desk. "I'm listening."   
　The computer specialist gulped: whatever was scrolling on this screen appeared to be a personal message.   
　**PHASE ONE IS UNDERWAY. FOUR OF THE SEVEN SEALS ON THE SCROLL OF PERDITION, STOLEN FROM THE VAULTS OF THE UNSEEN GOD, HAVE BEEN UNSEALED. YOU, THE VICTOR, HAVE TAKEN SWAY OF THE HUMAN AND DIGITAL PLANES. NOW YOU HAVE THE REINS OF WAR IN YOUR HANDS. YOU WILL WAGE WAR, AND I WILL GUARANTEE THAT THE WORLD WILL KNOW NOT WHO BEGAT IT. THE OTHER CALAMITIES WILL FOLLOW. I WILL BREAK THE OTHER THREE SEALS WHEN THE TIME COMES.   
　WITH MY KNOWLEDGE, YOU HAVE STOCKPILED THE WEAPONRY OF THE NATIONS. USE THEM AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES. MAKE NUCLEAR WINTER FALL UPON THE HOME OF FREEDOM, THE REALM OF THE GOD-KINGS, AND THE LAND OF THE SOVEREIGNS. DO THIS, AND THE WORLD WILL BE READY FOR MY REIGN.   
　THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS WILL BE DARK, YES ... BUT I PROMISE REWARDS FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW ... AS LONG AS YOU ELIMINATE THE CHOSEN CHILDREN DURING THIS BLEAK PERIOD. I SENSE SOMETHING UNUSUAL AMONGST THEM....**   
　"Nuclear winter?!" Talmadge roared, turning in his chair to face Owsley. "Whoever sent this wants to declare nuclear war! We have to tell the government - the cities have to be evacuated! Which places were to be targeted?" He turned back towards the television, only to reach for the remote and turn the sound on again.   
　_Breaking news - military uprisings against the Global Community has arisen in New York, Washington, and other cities on the East Coast. Apparently, they were attacks focused against the Potentate Nicolae Carpathia, who, as of this moment, is not known to still be alive. This just in - the Potentate is all right! He has ordered a nuclear bombing on the United States in retaliation...._   
　"Goddamn it, he's using _nukes_ on American soil?" Ramsey cursed. "I doubt even the major cities have bomb shelters large or deep enough to survive a nuclear attack! Now what?"   
　Talmadge sighed and lit a cigar he removed from the storage box. "If Chicago is targeted - which I doubt - we're at least far enough away to survive the actual bombing. As for fallout ... we're just going to make sure we stay in here for quite a while. And Andrew" - he swiveled his chair to face the young man - "make sure you keep that disk in your computer. We may learn some more about what may happen in the future." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Chloe's car, somewhere in Des Plaines, Chicago   
------------------------------------------------- 

_This just in - a nuclear bomb has been dropped in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City. We have lost all visual and audio contact with the city. Reports from the Global Community say that these are in retaliation for a joint American / British / Egyptian strike against the Global Community. Thousands are presumed dead in the blast. In other news: nuclear bombs have also been dropped on London, Cairo, Washington...._   
　Buck sat on the hood of the car, staring off into the distance where Parker had run off. The radio had been turned up to its highest volume levels, loud enough for the inching cars nearby to hear the state of the world.   
　_This can't be good_, he thought, feeling a wind whip his hair before his face. He pulled his leather jacket tighter over his neck, trying to keep the slight autumn chill out. It was almost evening, darkness inching over the sky with its carpet of stars.   
　"Buck?"   
　The journalist turned at the voice, finding Chloe standing by the open driver-seat door. "What is it?" he muttered, looking out again at the abandoned road ahead.   
　"You're not going back to New York again, are you?"   
　Buck shook his head. "Why should I? My home is vaporized, the main offices of _Global Community Weekly_ are probably ruined ... I've nothing to go back to now."   
　"Right. I see." She sat on the driver's seat, looking back at the passenger seat to find Raven sleeping with the three digimon. "Is Frank going to get back soon?"   
　Buck stared down the road, seeing a shadow staggering towards the car. "I think so," he said at last; "he'll be here any minute now."   
　A rumble vibrated one of the pockets in Buck's jacket. Buck thrust his hand inside, taking out his D3. There were some words on the screen.   
　"'Urgent message, press any button to read'," Buck recited, shrugging. In his peripheral vision, he could see Chloe look up at him from out the windshield. She didn't seem to pay attention to Buck, only to the advancing figure coming from the ruins. Ignoring her, Buck pressed a button, flooding the D3 screen with text: 

　_Cameron: In big trouble. Bombs not falling in Israel, but family killed. Am in hiding - too scared to tell whereabouts. The Prophets will surely give you a hint. Try to get me to the States, hopefully somewhere where there is no fallout. Other Chosen are there, I presume. Cannot hide for long, get me ASAP. - Ben._

　"Oh my god," Buck breathed, pocketing his D3. He jumped off the car's hood and walked over to the driver-side door. "Chloe?"   
　The girl turned her face to Buck. "Yeah?"   
　"Take care of Raven until Frank gets back. And get a better car - if this war drags on, we're going to have to get over some rough terrain." He looked towards the back seat, finding the digimon rousing themselves. "I suggest trading in this car for an Explorer."   
　Chloe's eyes widened. "Buck, you've got to be kidding! My dad gave me this car-"   
　"And it's a piece of crap," Buck spat, backing out of the open door. He rushed to the back seat, picking up a drowsy Elecmon into his arms. "Trust me, Chloe; we're going to need something that could handle all terrains." He walked away from the car, barging his way through the standstill traffic in the general direction of downtown Chicago.   
　"Buck!" Chloe yelled out, stepping out of the car. She could hear Raven awakening in the back seat, turning herself to look out the rear window. The pounding of feet on asphalt signaled Parker's return; the man halted behind her, staring off where Buck had run away.   
　"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Parker cursed, loosening the collar about his neck. "He's going off towards downtown! What if-"   
　His words were cut out by a tone so deafening that Parker, Chloe, and Raven had to hold their hands to their ears. A squadron of F-16 jets, all with the insignia of the Global Community, droned off towards downtown Chicago. Parker gazed upwards to inspect their payloads: they were fully armed with Sidewinders and some other type of missile that Parker didn't recognize.   
　"Holy mother of God," Parker gasped, looking back out towards Buck, still weav-ing his way through the forest of cars. "Buck - don't go towards downtown! It's an attack!"   
　Buck, only a hundred feet away from the others, stopped briefly. "No - I'm not going back," he whispered, clutching Elecmon closer to him. _Even though I left my bags in the trunk, I don't see any need for them_, he thought. "I have to get Ben - he's in more danger than the others...."   
　"Buck," Elecmon grumbled drowsily, "where are we going?"   
　"Israel," Buck breathed. "We're going to Israel."   
　Taking a deep breath, Buck sprinted through the cars towards downtown, ignoring the planes that continued to soar overhead. Explosions rumbled in the distance, and smoke plumed in a column reaching out into the darkening heavens. Radios from the cars blasted out the latest news: _Chicago has been bombed! I repeat, downtown Chicago has been bombed! No news if it was a nuclear strike...._   
　"No - first New York, then Chicago!" Buck whispered harshly. "If this war keeps on like this, I'll never make it to Israel!" He brought a hand upon the Crest of Truth hidden beneath his shirt, feeling for the first time in over a year its ethereal warmth. "Guardian .. I know it's been so long ... but I need your assistance again for another Chosen Child's sake ... I _want_ to be one with you again…."   
　And with those words, the Crest of Truth enveloped him with its brightness, and the last thing he felt was a pair of wings bursting from his back.... 

"Oh my god…."   
　Chloe backed up into Parker, feeling the chrononaut's arms wrap around her tentatively. Her mouth remained gaping open as she stared out towards downtown. She had seen Buck run in that direction ... before those wings burst from his back, and his casual wear transformed into those robes of the purest white....   
　"It's happened again," Parker breathed, pulling Chloe closer to him.   
　Chloe just nodded. "I've seen this before ... when I saw him fight that dragon on the computer over a year ago. He's ... the Guardian, isn't he?"   
　"Yes," Parker nodded, watching the angel glide towards downtown in the distance. "And he hates it as much as hell." 

_Cameron...._   
　Buck opened his eyes, finding himself in the familiar blue orb of light that evidenced his fusion with the Guardian. He realized that his arms seemed to be clutching something to his chest - what it was, he could not see. Frigid wind blasted against his bare body, whipping his hair far behind his head.   
　"Is that you, Guardian?" he asked at last, trying to discover what was beyond the orb of light other than the ever-present darkness.   
　_You did summon me, did you not?_ the calm rumble echoed in the man's ears.   
　"Yes," Buck whispered. "I need to get to Israel."   
　A sigh blew across the darkness, bringing awareness of the Guardian's senses to Buck's attention. He was high above downtown Chicago, just feet below the fighter jets that threatened the city below. In his arms was Elecmon, clinging to the Guardian's robes as he looked at the destruction the planes had caused.   
　_I only have enough strength to take you to Jerusalem_, the Guardian's voice whispered, _but then you are on your own._   
　Buck nodded. "But why?"   
　_I must return to my partner, Cameron. I am sorry. But I have sent my servant to meet you in Jerusalem. She will give you the ability to have full authority over this form._   
　"Right." Buck looked down at the city below again, finding that most of downtown was now a smoking cauldron of ruins. He could pick out what may have been the Sears Tower, but it was now half of its original height, just a regular skyscraper amongst the other bombed-out shells. But what good would it do?   
　_Flying through this will prolong the journey_, the Guardian whispered, almost like a faint ocean breeze. _We must steer clear of all the major cities. Then we shall reach Jerusalem before I am too weak._   
　"Yes," Buck replied. "How long will that be?"   
　_Two hours._   
　"Wait a minute - two hours? But ... you're a living creature - and I'm human! I can't fly as fast as a jet plane - and I doubt you could, too!"   
　_Trust me, Cameron ... this once._   
　Buck could feel the wings on his back stop their flapping, extending themselves to their full wingspan. Warmth spread across the feathered membranes, bringing a burst of speed to his flight. Holding Elecmon closer to his chest, Buck sped under the shadow of the fighters, seeing sky and earth rush below him as he made his way towards the Atlantic and - eventually - Israel. 

The phone in Parker's jacket started to vibrate harshly, making the chrononaut back away from Chloe. He walked some distance from the car and took the cell phone from his pocket, pressing a button and bringing it to his ear. "Parker here."   
　"Thank goodness you are still there! I was hoping you were not hurt." It was Nicolae. "I need you for an errand."   
　_What fun_, Parker grumbled, stealing a glance at the car. "What is it?"   
　"I cannot tell you - this is not a secure line. I have a helicopter headed in your direction - it will take you and your wife to where we are." _Click_.   
　Parker pulled the phone from his ear and pressed the end message button. _How'd he know I'm married?_ Parker thought, thrusting the phone into his pocket. _I've only been married for a few minutes!_   
　"What was that about?" Chloe asked as Parker made his way back to the car.   
　"Our good friend Nick wants me to do something," he said, his last words almost cut off by the thunderous rotating helicopter blades that had now just entered his awareness. _Damn, those 'copters come quick._ "Wake up Raven and get Tentomon - you take care of our bags."   
　Chloe nodded and thrust her head into the passenger seating area. "Raven - you and Frank are going somewhere."   
　The newly married woman turned towards Chloe, brushing her tresses from her eyes. "You saw what happened to Buck, right?" Her eyes had grown larger as she spoke, reflecting Chloe's distressed face in its violet depths.   
　Chloe nodded. "Yeah. But you have to go now - there's a helicopter out there waiting for you." She turned back, finding a military transport helicopter on the ground nearby with three armed soldiers in camouflage fatigues standing guard by the open sides. Her hair whipped across her face as the helicopter's whirring blades turned in the air.   
　"All right." Raven clamored out of the car, obstructed by her form-fitting wedding dress. "Should I bring the luggage?"   
　"No - only Tentomon." But Tentomon had already awakened and flew out of the car after Raven, heading towards Parker.   
　"Raven, hurry up!" Parker called, gesturing to the helicopter. "We don't have much time!" He helped his wife on board when she arrived, then climbed on after her and pulled Tentomon inside. Parker turned towards Chloe then, and cupped his hands about his mouth.   
　"Chloe - be sure to get a new car! That one won't last!"   
　Then the helicopter lifted from the ground, and the whirring of its blades faded into the panicked cries of civilians and the dread-filled reports on the radio. Chloe climbed into the driver's seat of the car after closing the passenger door, taking out her keys and starting up the engine. She slammed shut her door, shifted the gears into drive, and put her full weight on the accelerator, directing her vehicle towards the nearest car sales lot.   
　"Chloe, where are we going?" Hawkmon muttered from the back seat. "You're driving awfully fast."   
　"We're getting a new car," she grumbled, shifting gears again to adjust to the abandoned sidewalks by the gridlocked streets. "Apparently the men want me to."   
　Chloe could see Hawkmon nod his head in the rear view mirror. "Thank God," the digimon muttered as he sat down and buckled up. "This car's a piece of trash." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Jerusalem, Israel   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck could not remember the flight across the Atlantic, or arriving in Israel. Being able to travel _naturally_ as fast as a Concorde had exhausted him after flying near the radioactive ruins of Washington, so Buck had closed his eyes, letting the Guardian handle the flight.   
　Buck didn't know he had fallen asleep, nor had knowledge of arriving in Israel. When he did at last open his eyes, he found himself lying on his back over what felt like a linen blanket. A stucco ceiling stretched out above him, and on his chest he could feel Elecmon's deep breathing.   
　"Where are we?" Buck moaned, lifting Elecmon from his chest and setting him aside. It was then he realized he was on a bed, situated before a television in a small room. There was a French door leading out onto a balcony; it was opened, and the evening air was now making the sheer curtains billow out into the room.   
　"We're at the King David," Elecmon muttered, his eyes still shut. "Get to sleep."   
　Buck shook his head. _Israel, already?_ He turned to find a clock, finding a digital alarm clock on a nightstand to his right. The display read 3:30 AM. There was also a pad of paper the hotel had provided - there was a note written on it. 

　_Guardian was unable to see you fully into Jerusalem. His assistant found you in Haifa and brought you to Jerusalem. She has paid for one day's lodging here under one of your aliases. Come to the Wall as soon as you awake - we must speak to you._

　The letter was signed with a seal consisting of interlocked circles, each of them with an intricate design inscribed in the center.   
　"Great ... now I have to get to that Wailing Wall," Buck sighed, taking his attention away from the pad. His hair was starting to blow in the faint wind, which - now that he noticed - had grown slightly stronger. Maybe the fighter jets that seemingly had steered clear of Israel were now coming around, but there was no drone of engines to mark such a presence.   
　"Cameron...."   
　Buck perked his head up at the voice. It might have been the wind - sure sounded like it - but he could not remember when the wind had whispered with such authority. Curious, he stood up from the bed and made his way to the doors that led to the balcony. He was about to shut the doors when something caught his eye. It was just at the corner of his eye, a small flash of gold - _no, that couldn't be_, Buck told himself, yet he could not ignore what he sensed.   
　"Cameron...."   
　The voice sounded so much closer now - did it come from the balcony? Buck walked out onto the balcony, a blast of desert air encouraging him to remove his jacket. Yet he resisted that urge - the jacket's hidden pockets held his wallet, D3, and cell phone. He distracted himself by searching around, turning his head to view the city of Jerusalem. Even in the early morning, there were some lights still lit - especially by the newly-opened temple by the Wailing Wall. That had been the much-lauded project by Nicolae in recent months - hell, Buck even did a story on it just months ago.   
　"I see you have awakened."   
　Buck turned at the voice, facing the farthest reaches of the small balcony. Standing on the railing was a silhouette, perhaps a little over six feet tall if she (it looked like a she) had stood on level with Buck. A staff, just slightly taller than its wielder, was in her left hand, its pointed end buried in the railing. Buck could tell she was in heeled shoes, seemingly gilded in gold that glinted in the low light. His eyes drifted to the figure's face, noting that this stranger had what seemed like a fox's ears on her head, emerging from her silver hair tied in two flowing strands behind her.   
　"Who are you?" Buck asked, reaching his hand into his jacket for his D3. He pointed it at the woman, pressing a button for the analyzer screen. Words scrolled upon it, but he had no chance to glance at it.   
　"Your device will not detect my data," the woman whispered.   
　"So you are a digimon," Buck shrugged, thrusting his D3 back into his jacket pocket. How could a human with no knowledge of digimon know that the D3 scanned their data?   
　"Yes." The woman leaped from the railing, staff in her hands, and alighted just an arm's length from Buck. "I am Sakuyamon."   
　Now Buck had a closer look at the digimon's face - a gilded helm, shaped like a fox's face, shielded her eyes and the top of her head. Raised areas of ebony on the helm marked the spaces where the eyes would be. Her lips were of a deep amethyst, starkly contrasting with her pale skin. Looking further down her body, Buck could note the detail in Sakuyamon's armor - also in gold, with arcane symbols upon her shoulder armor, breastplate, and gauntlets, which were in purple. The rest of her body was covered in a black, form-fitting suit, interrupted by a stripe of white running down the center of her torso.   
　Sakuyamon took Buck's hand into her own, pulling the human close to her. "The prophets sent me to bring you to them," she spoke into his ear. "I understand that you have just recovered from the journey ... the Guardian had to use the last of his strength to send you here...."   
　"He ... did? Where is he now?"   
　A sigh. "I have to return him to his partner now, after this task. Hold on."   
　Sakuyamon jumped into the warm air, adjusting her path to float on the thermal lifts of the wind. She directed her head towards the lights of the new temple, bringing her passenger tight against her breast for security.   
　Buck forced his head up toward Sakuyamon's, managing a handhold in her armor. "Sakuyamon ... are you the Guardian's assistant?"   
　The digimon's lips parted in a slight smile. "You may say that I am. It is something I do on occasion ... and it is a debt I owe him."   
　"A ... debt? For what?"   
　"I was not always a digimon, Cameron. Like the Archangel Ophanimon, I was human once. I was a Japanese princess ... my name was Sakuya Konohana. I studied dark magic, but used it for battling the demons that were overrunning Japan. The last demon I fought was believed to be their prince ... he killed me, but I asked the spirits to give me another chance to destroy him.   
　"The Guardian came to me then, made me a digimon - an immortal demon-slayer, as he called it. In payment, I was to be his eyes and ears as he guarded the Center and - eventually - you."   
　"Ah. I see," Buck nodded. He chanced a look below, finding the lights of the temple just below him. "We're at the temple."   
　"I know." Sakuyamon angled her flight towards the wall just some feet from the light, towards the square where the two digimon prophets were resting from their ordeal. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Glenview Air Force Base, outskirts of Chicago   
------------------------------------------------- 

The military transport helicopter landed on an abandoned airstrip as the moon made its way over the horizon. The runway lights of the base had not been switched on, nor were the exterior lights of the hangars, control tower, and personnel barracks. A plane, probably a seven-passenger Learjet, could be seen on the neighboring runway, its doors open. Three people could be seen seated inside: two passengers and a pilot.   
　"Potentate Carpathia is in that jet," the soldier closest to Parker pointed. "I suggest you and your wife hurry."   
　Parker nodded. "What about you?"   
　"Orders are to patrol the city, watch for other rebel outbreaks. Of course, with the aerial offensive on our part, I doubt it. Don't you?"   
　"Yeah. I bet," Parker shrugged. He jumped out of the helicopter, staying behind to help Raven down. He ended up carrying her in his arms, trudging to the Learjet with Tentomon buzzing behind him.   
　"This is turning out to be some honeymoon, eh?" Raven chuckled as Parker slowed his pace near the Learjet's entry hatch.   
　"Ah, it's just another day in the life." Parker set Raven on the ground and prepared to assist her into the jet, only to see that one of the men inside had already set himself to the task. He could see Nicolae in a seat across from the entrance, and his second-in-command seating himself before him after helping Raven into her own chair. Donovan - Leon, as Nicolae knew him - managed a wink as he pointed to the cockpit. He was mouthing something - a name, perhaps?   
　"Ballard's the pilot," Parker could make out.   
　_Wait a minute ... Ballard transferred from Backstep for another project - but pilot an aircraft? Heck, with his legs paralyzed, he couldn't even control the elevator pedals!_   
　Baffled, Parker shoved Tentomon into the passenger cabin (_not as if anyone would care_, he thought), closed the door, and jumped into the cockpit. He fastened his seatbelt and closed his door, turning to see the face of his copilot.   
　"So, we meet again, eh, Frank?"   
　Parker thrust on his earphones, then took another look at the man. He was balding, almost like Ramsey, only with less meat on his bones. A lollipop was in his mouth, and evidently he had had a few - there were candy wrappers and chewed-up lollipop sticks scattered on the instrument panel and floor. The man stared back at Parker, looking at him with eyes magnified behind his thick eyeglasses. Parker couldn't help but drop his mouth in disbelief.   
　"Ballard? Dr. Ballard?" 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, Israel   
------------------------------------------------- 

_I see you have returned, Sakuyamon_, Jijimon echoed in Buck's heart as he and his digimon escort alighted before the prophets by the wall. The digimon prophets had emerged from their resting place by a small building, and now took what was now their customary position just yards away from the centermost point of the wall. Global Community peacekeepers had placed a chain-link fence meant to separate the digimon from their human audience, but blackened areas on the fence only evidenced where Babamon's assaults had been released.   
　"I have brought Cameron - I understand you wanted to speak to him." Sakuyamon walked to the fence, her gloved hands grasping the chain links.   
　_Bring him here._ Babamon had emerged now, bringing her face to the fence.   
　Sakuyamon turned to Buck, and motioned him to come with a twitch of her fingers. He approached the fence, kneeling down to bring himself closer to the digimon on the other side. "What is this about?" he whispered, drawing his face close to Babamon.   
　_You have an incoming message on your D3_, Jijimon breathed.   
　A soft beeping vibrated within Buck's jacket, where his D3 was pocketed. He pulled his hand inside, finding his D3 screen blinking with the notice for an incoming message. Curious, he pressed a button, finding another text message scrolling on the screen. 

　_Hey, Buck! I got a new car - you wanted an Explorer, right? It seats five, has GPS, can switch between automatic and manual transmission, and a lot of other goodies. Don't worry; I got your luggage with me. Hope you get back soon - things are getting lonely here. - Chloe._

　"Thank God she got a new car," Buck muttered, thrusting the D3 into his coat pocket. "So, what was this you we going to tell me?"   
　_The Faithful and True one once went to a lake_, Babamon recited, like a schoolgirl in front of her class. _There he found two fishermen on a boat. The fishermen were having a hard time making a catch, so the Faithful and True one told them where to cast their nets.   
　Following his advice_, Jijimon continued, _the fishermen cast their nets. When they reeled them in, they found their nets bursting with fish. Knowing that the Faithful and True one was true to his word, the fishermen left their boats and followed in his footsteps._   
　Buck nodded his head as the story went on. He had heard a tale similar to this one many years ago ... but why tell it to him? Fishermen ... the Faithful and True ... where was this leading to?   
　_So now do you know where the last Chosen Child is?_ Babamon queried, moving her broom towards Buck. _Do you?_   
　"Wait a minute - how did-?"   
　_Do you know, Cameron?_   
　"It must be in the story," he mused, resting his head in a hand. "A lake ... and fishermen ... there must be a lake in Israel somewhere - ah, I get it!"   
　_Do not say where - there are those who still want to kill him_, Jijimon whispered. _We must rest again ... daybreak is soon coming._   
　The prophets backed from the fence, inched over to where they took their customary respite at twilight. They may have been behind a small shack, but Buck knew that they had squatted on their haunches, staffs upright, seemingly ready for an opposing strike.   
　"We should return to the hotel now, Cameron," Sakuyamon purred, taking Buck into her arms again. "You have to leave for Tsion soon."   
　Buck nodded. "Yes. We should." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - somewhere over the United States   
------------------------------------------------- 

"What are you doing here, Ballard?" Parker yelled into his headset, turning back in his chair. He could see Nicolae leaning into the aisle in the passenger area behind, chatting with Raven. It didn't seem to be much to worry about - it must be small talk, at the very least.   
　"That Nicolae guy hired me to build something ... I'll show it to you when we get to Dallas." Ballard rolled the lollipop around his mouth - a signal for Parker to move the elevator pedals on his side. "It's quite neat - I made a few improvements to the original model."   
　_Great ... improvements_, Parker shuddered. He remembered every improvement Ballard had made to the Sphere ... the results were memorable in that way that made hair stand on your neck. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - King David Hotel, Jerusalem   
------------------------------------------------- 

"Buck ... back already?" Elecmon yawned as he scuttled his way onto the balcony. Sakuyamon had already alighted, and now swung Buck so he would face her.   
　"Before I leave you," Sakuyamon purred, "I must give you the Guardian's means for protecting you. Hand me your D3, Cameron." She extended a gloved hand, a smile crawling up her amethyst lips.   
　Buck shrugged ... Sakuyamon was the Guardian's assistant, so he assumed she could be trusted. Besides, hadn't she taken him safely to the prophets at the Wailing Wall and back? He shoved a hand inside his coat, revealed his D3, and dropped it into Sakuyamon's waiting hand. A rose-colored light shone on the screen for a few seconds, then faded back to darkness.   
　"Look on the screen, Cameron," the digimon whispered. "What do you see?"   
　Buck took back the D3 - it didn't seem that anything happened. But what was this...? An outline of the Guardian's robes, wings extending from them, was drawn out in silver ... Digital Hieroglyphs rearranged themselves into English: _Spirit of Hope._   
　"What is this?" Buck gasped. "What's a Spirit?"   
　"It is the remains of a powerful digimon, usually left behind after they sacrifice their bodies," Sakuyamon explained. "Humans and digimon could use them to become the digimon that left behind that Spirit. They are very rare ... and I am the only one who can create them."   
　"So ... can I use it?"   
　Sakuyamon nodded. "Yes ... just say 'Spirit Evolution', and it will activate." She backed away from Buck, her boots clicking with her every step on the balcony. "I must leave now ... the Guardian must return to his partner...."   
　And with those words, Sakuyamon flickered like a faulty image on a television before fading from view.   
　Buck looked down at the D3 in his hands ... the Spirit still stared back at him, its silver glint sparkling in his eyes. It was hypnotic, following the folds of the robes, watching them seemingly blow in a wind that wasn't there....   
　Then it struck him.   
　He brought the D3 before his body, screen facing away from him. If Sakuyamon gave him the Guardian's Spirit, then he might as well use it ... if only it wasn't the same as when he became one with the Guardian.   
　"Spirit ... Evolution!"   
　The world turned white before him ... everything on his person burned from his body - no, something was forming on his body ... the robes, the familiar helm, even the sword was materializing where he had held his D3....   
　Then the light faded.   
　Buck blinked ... he could still see the balcony, but there was something different. There were small words forming on the left side of his view: Heat Sensing, Targeting, Night Vision ... what was this?   
　"Buck..."   
　Buck turned around, finding Elecmon standing on his hind legs, blue eyes wider than he had ever seen them. What was he surprised about? Nothing seemed to have changed....   
　"Why do you look like the Guardian, Buck?"   
　The Guardian...? Buck looked down at his hands - he had held his D3 there, but felt the sword during the evolution. The sword was still there, steel gleaming in the moonlight. He raised the blade to his face, saw the reflection in the weapon....   
　"Just like that dream last year...."   
　For the face he saw in the reflection ... was the Guardian's....   
　_The Spirit Evolution must have transformed me into the Guardian!_ Buck thought; _but then, why don't I hear his voice? Why aren't I in that sphere of light...?_   
　"What are you doing standing there, then?" Elecmon called out. "What are we going to do? What if someone sees you?"   
　"We're leaving now, Elecmon." Buck gathered the digimon in his hands, held him close to his chest. "I know where Ben is...."   
　He unfurled his wings and leaped from the balcony, gliding over Jerusalem to the Jordan River and - eventually - where he believed Ben was hiding.   
　Lake Tiberius. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport   
------------------------------------------------ 

Ballard taxied the Learjet into an abandoned hangar far enough away from the main airport. Dallas hadn't been hit by the war, but with rebels on the lookout for the potentate, it probably was best to stay away from a heavily populated place. Not that Dallas was at the moment - it was nearly deserted, airplanes taking off for fear that the war would reach them.   
　"All right, passengers, it is safe to exit _Global Community Peacekeeper One_," Ballard recited into his headset, depressing the button so that the passengers could hear. "Please watch your step when you head out of the plane, and I hope you had a nice flight." He released his hold on the button, watching Donovan, Nicolae, Raven, and Tentomon file their way out of the plane. Noticing that the passengers had all left, Ballard and Parker ran though the post-flight checklist before joining the others.   
　"Come on, Ballard, what's this thing you're supposed to show me?" Parker probed, following Nicolae and the others toward a door leading to another hangar. "You haven't told me much about it!"   
　"Don't worry - I'm sure he's leading us to it now." Ballard maneuvered his wheelchair next to Parker, unwrapping another lollipop and shoving it into his mouth. "Ah, there it is now."   
　Parker ducked into the door, his eyes immediately greeted by a buffet of finger sandwiches … was this what Ballard was building for Nicolae? A giant buffet in a hangar at Dallas International?   
　"Ballard, you must've sunk to new lows to build a buffet for Nicolae," Parker scoffed, seeing Tentomon fly over to a table a shove a few finger sandwiches into his mouth, toothpicks and all.   
　"No, no, no, Frank ... look up there."   
　Parker did. Towering above the buffet tables was a jet, considerably larger than the Boeing 757 _Global Community One_. It was painted in black, the windows in the passenger cabin tinted to match the paint. The cockpit windows were clear, though, reflecting the stark halogen light of the hangar into Parker's eyes. Words were painted on the side of the craft in white: _Condor 216_.   
　"You designed that thing?" Parker gaped; this surely wasn't like any aircraft he'd seen. It was too sleek for its status, too much on the fighter jet side for a potentate's plane. "What is it, a fighter jet or something?"   
　"No, my friend - it's the potentate's new plane. Comes with a lounge, a restaurant, conference room, communications center, quarters for you and your copilot ... and a few little things I decided to add. Come on, let's get inside."   
　Parker shrugged - what was the harm to go inside a plane developed by one of the founders of Backstep, anyway? 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - somewhere near Lake Tiberius, Israel   
------------------------------------------------- 

The readout screen on the inside of the Guardian's helm detected something under the Infrared setting. Buck gazed downward at the rushing plains below - there was nothing but grass, a few aquatic plants, the Jordan River, and the edges of nearby Lake Tiberius.   
　"I think I found him, Elecmon," he whispered, angling his flight sharper towards the ground. "He's by the lakeside ... three other people are with him."   
　"Guardian-"   
　"Please, Elecmon - just call me Buck. You're confusing me." _Spirit Evolution confuses me...._   
　"Right. Sorry. Could you tell if that's really him, though, Buck?"   
　"I think so." The readout screen detected a faint silver light on one of the infrared readings - the menu on the left marked it as a Crest. "I detect a Digivice and ... maybe a Crest."   
　"Then it has to be him! Come on, Buck, let's get there!"   
　 Buck nodded - by now he was skimming over the tall grass, so it was easy for him to halt his flight and plant his feet into the ground. Elecmon jumped out of his arms, and padded beside his now-digimon partner as he trudged through the grass, Omega Blade bared in his hands.   
　"He's nearby, Elecmon - there's something irregular about that place there." Buck raised his sword, pointed towards a copse of trees by the muddy bank. The grass had abruptly ended before the trees, and the readout screen could mark out footsteps in the soil - human ones not a few hours old.   
　"Should we break in?" Elecmon rasped, standing on his hind legs. "Ben might've been captured."   
　Buck shook his head. "No ... something tells me he's safe." He advanced through the thinning grass, following the footsteps the Night Vision setting had located to an area beyond the copse. The path wound downward, the riverbank now towering above his helm-covered head as Buck and Elecmon at last reached a dead end. There was a door there, plastered with mud - well disguised enough to go unnoticed.   
　"This is it," Buck whispered. "Ben's here." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport   
------------------------------------------------- 

"You like it?" Ballard beamed, navigating his wheelchair through the bowels of the _Condor 216_. He and Parker had entered into the lounge, a room with a relaxed setting of white leather chairs surrounding a big-screen television. A corridor led to the restaurant in one direction, and the crew's quarters and cockpit in the other.   
　"It's ... quite nice," Parker said, turning his head to view the area. "Looks just like the _Global Community One_. Speaking of which, what happened to it?"   
　"You didn't hear?"   
　Parker shook his head. "I haven't had access to radio or television for some time, not since I was picked up from Chicago."   
　"New York was nuked, Frank. The _Global Community One_ was there, at Kennedy Airport. I'm just glad that your copilot escaped - he's in the cockpit."   
　_That's a relief_, Parker sighed inwardly. Mac was a good man - over the past eighteen months they had shuttled Nicolae across the world, attended social functions, and even became good friends. "Could we go there now?"   
　"Well, sure, Frank - I've something to show you there, anyway. After you," he said, pulling out of the way so Parker could enter the hallway to the cockpit.   
　The cockpit was like that of a 757, except for the padded leather seats and the extra legroom. Mac was in the copilot's chair, running through the pre-flight checklist when Parker and Ballard entered. The Texan turned around and brushed some of his fiery hair from his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, just going through routine here - Frank! You made it! Nice to see you!" He clapped the chrononaut on the shoulder as he shoved himself into his seat. "You like the _Two-One-Six_ so far?"   
　Parker leaned back in his chair, taking the wheel in his hands - it was contoured to fit his grip exactly. "It's fine so far." He ran his eyes over the control panels, the back-lit gauges, the cup holder in the divider between him and Mac ... it was almost perfect. "Better than the _Global_." He ran his hands around the chair, feeling the plush padding, the retractable armrests, the smooth underside-   
　"Hey, Ballard, there's a button underneath my seat," Parker called out. "Is that supposed to be there?"   
　"Oh, that," the man said around a lollipop he had just thrown into his mouth. "Just one of my improvements."   
　"I hope it's a self-destruct button," Mac muttered, flipping a few switches over head. "I hate it when I hear the boss eating his ramen or whatever he eats for lunch."   
　"No - it activates the state-of-the-art bugging system I installed on the plane. Here - I'll go to the lounge to test it out. Just flip on the intercom, say a message, then press the button." Ballard maneuvered his chair out of the tight room and left for the lounge down the hall.   
　"I hope this works," Parker sighed, donning his earphones. He flipped on the intercom switch, his other hand on the bug activator. "Okay, Ballard, I better hope this improvement is better than your other ones," he said into the microphone. He depressed the button then, expecting to hear some mindless clatter from the passengers that were about to enter the plane. Instead, he heard his friend:   
　"Hey, Frank - I'm whispering right now, but I designed this thing to pick up the faintest sound. It hasn't been detected, even by the Global Community's best sweepers. I've even hooked it up to the phones, so you could hear both sides of any conversation. You like?"   
　Parker turned so his face could be seen in the doorway, and gave a hearty two thumbs up to his friend in the wheelchair. For once, one of Ballard's improvements had done him good. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - somewhere on the shore of Lake Tiberius   
------------------------------------------------- 

The door slid open, revealing a man dressed in military fatigue pants. An Uzi was carried on his shoulders Marine style, held up with one hand while the other fingered a handgun. He set his steel-like eyes on Buck, then at the digimon by his feet. He then spoke in Hebrew, the clipped whispers sounding like orders.   
　Words appeared at the bottom of the readout screen: Are you here for Ben-Judah?   
　Buck nodded. "Yes. Where is he?" He had spoken in English, hoping that the commando knew some smattering of the language.   
　The armed man spoke again: How do I know that you won't hurt him?   
　_Great ...there's no getting through this guy_, Buck sighed. _If only I knew how the hell to get out of a Spirit Evolution!_   
　Words again filled the readout screen: End Spirit Evolution? Yes or No.   
　_Yes_.   
　White light blinded Buck, fading away to reveal him in human form, his clothes still on his back. His D3 was in his hands where the Omega Blade once was. Buck tried to look beyond the commando, finding a faint light illuminating another guard and a sitting man facing the door. The one facing the door stood up and padded to the guard before Buck, soon tapping him on the shoulder. He whispered a few words in Jewish before the guard walked off. The man then walked out, and took Buck into a deep embrace.   
　"Buck! I prayed that you would come! My god, how did you get here? And what was that form you were in? But, oh, Buck, you do not have to explain - you are here!" Sobs filled Ben, tears pouring from his eyes onto Buck's shirt. "Come inside, before anybody comes!"   
　Buck took the rabbi before him, led him into the shelter. The guard by the door slid it shut after Elecmon walked in and locked it. Ignoring the guards, Buck, Ben, and Elecmon went to a corner of the room and sat down.   
　"How did you get all the way out here?" Buck started, taking Elecmon into his lap and thrusting his D3 into his jacket pocket. "And who are they?"   
　"The doorman is Michael - he is a friend of mine. He is the one who helped me escape out here - and the one who will help us flee from Israel. He smuggled me into his car after ... my family was assassinated."   
　"Assassinated!?" Buck was thrown back by the word. Why would anyone want to assassinate a rabbi, especially one who did the report on CNN about the Faithful and True-   
　"Yes, Buck - it was because of that broadcast over a year ago. I am considered a heretic now, sadly, and I believe that the United States is the only place where I will be safe. Of course, if I only had my partner to protect me-"   
　"Don't dwell on that," Buck hissed, taking Ben by the shoulders. "As far as we know, your family might be in the Golden Land, along with the Chosen Children taken eighteen months ago."   
　"Then if the Chosen Children were taken," Ben wailed, "why do you and I remain? Why are Francis and Chloe still here?"   
　"Because we have a task, Ben - and that is to defend this world. It has fallen into darkness, and we can't let it fall too deep!"   
　_Where had those words come from?_ Buck asked himself - _I sure as hell didn't mean to say that!_   
　Whatever had come over Buck, it sure did make Ben's sobbing subside. "I see. I think that is a good enough reason. But those that killed my family-"   
　"I don't know, Ben. I don't know." 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - San Francisco International Airport   
------------------------------------------------- 

The war hadn't reached the west coast of the United States, so it was relatively simple to ease the _Condor 216_ onto a near-abandoned taxiway at the San Francisco airport. Parker eased the plane beside the terminal as flight crews below hurried to connect tubes between the fuel tanks on the plane and those on the ground.   
　"This is a rather uneventful day," Mac scoffed, scrolling through the post-flight checklist. "Just too bad your friend Ballard couldn't come."   
　"Yeah." Parker slid from his chair and walked over to his quarters nearby; Tentomon was still on his bed, reeling from the longer flight. "You having fun?"   
　"I think your friend should have installed seatbelts in your quarters," the digimon moaned, turning to Parker. "Tell him to come back."   
　"I can't - he's on his way to Montana right now. Just sit tight a moment, we'll be in the air again soon." He left his quarters and returned to the cockpit, finding that the flight crew below had scuttled away, the trucks with tanks of gas driving back to the terminal. "Mac, you done with the check?"   
　"Not yet - but I'm just not sure what the boss wants after I'm done. Where is he, anyway?"   
　"I think I can find out." Parker slid back into his chair, placed the headphones on his ears, and activated the bugging system. A conversation echoed into the pilot's ears.   
　Nicolae: _We will trigger the American west coast thirty minutes after the Condor takes off._   
　Man (unknown): _What do you mean, "trigger"?_   
　Nicolae: _Just as I said. We will bomb major cities on the west coast - Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles-_   
　Donovan / Leon: _LA? You can't be crazy!_   
　Nicolae: _Why do you say so, Leon?_   
　Donovan / Leon: _I'm a Lakers fan! Sure, there won't be any more playoffs, but at least keep the Staples Center unscathed! Besides, you destroy LA, you also destroy your new theme park, Carpathialand...._   
　Nicolae: _Oh, yes ... Carpathialand ... I forgot about that.... All right then, instead of targeting Los Angeles, target Sacramento. Let everything else go as planned...._   
　Parker threw off his earphones and released his finger from the button beneath his seat. "Mac, go through the pre-flight checklist! San Francisco is targeted next!"   
　"What? Frank, I'm not even done with the post-flight-"   
　"Just do it!"   
　"But there's no militia, no rebels-"   
　"There never have been rebels - it's all caused by the boss!"   
　"There you go again, blaming the potentate...."   
　"Shut up, Mac, and get with it! I'll check to see if everyone in back is all right." Parker stood from his seat and marched out of the cockpit into the lounge. He saw Raven there, sleeping on a couch, the television still turned on. There were scenes of the devastation across the globe - or the lack thereof, as was the case in Israel. Parker shrugged and made his way back to the cockpit. New Babylon was close enough to Israel for comfort ... close enough not to be destroyed. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - underground hideout near Lake Tiberius, Israel   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck was roused by a sharp tap on his shoulder the next evening, making him bolt to his feet as he rubbed his eyes. It was then that he felt leaden in his limbs, felt a soreness on his back so familiar with his previous transformations into the Guardian. He rubbed his eyes, finding Ben across from him holding Elecmon. Michael, the doorman, was beside the rabbi; he was holding a pair of keys on a wire ring in his hands.   
　"We're escaping tonight," Ben translated as Michael spoke. "He has a bus in back - it's stick shift. You can drive stick, right?"   
　Buck nodded. "Sure can - it's fun." There was no need to tell about wild drives in the Arizona desert with the expression on his face. "So, where's this bus?"   
　The bus was in a garage not far from the common room. It was an ancient vehicle, probably out of commission for twenty years. Yellow paint had given away to rust, and the windows were misted over in white. A rack on the roof held a few weighted fishing nets and fishing supplies. The tires were recently changed, though, and some water tanks on the sides were topped off.   
　Michael tossed Buck the keys and whispered something in Hebrew. He ran off to the front of the bus and pulled a lever by the wall. The wall elevated out of view, revealing a path through the bush to a paved road. It was evening, starless, and there were no cars on the road to show any sign of civilization.   
　"Michael says we can leave now," Ben whispered. "Come on."   
　The two men clambered aboard the bus, Ben and Elecmon taking a seat to the rear while Buck sat behind the wheel. After a few unsuccessful tries at turning the key, the engine roared to life, and Buck shifted gears to rattle the bus down to the abandoned highway. It would be a miracle to get the bus out of the country in one piece in the shape it was in.   
　"The fastest way is to go to Egypt," Ben piped from the back. "It is just across the Sinai, and customs there is quite lax."   
　"Are we going the right way?" Buck asked, forcing his weight on the wheel as he maneuvered around the road. "There's no signs."   
　"Yes, Buck - this is the right way. I will just duck in back if we are checked."   
　_I'm going to hope that's enough to hide him_, Buck sighed, peering off into the darkness as the bus trudged down the road. 

Five hours later, Buck finally noticed a light down the road. It was a solar-powered lamp, illuminating a roadway sign: CHECKPOINT 1 KILOMETER AHEAD - ISRAEL-EGYPT BORDER.   
　"Shit ... there's a border checkpoint ahead," Buck cursed, turning back to find Ben still in his seat. "You'd better hide, we're almost there."   
　The rabbi nodded and ducked beneath his seat, still holding Elecmon in his arms. There were now light posts by the road, leading up to a barbed-wire fence and a simple office made of cinder-blocks. There were two soldiers in office that could be seen: a man sitting behind the desk, staring at a television, and another with two long tied strands of dark hair just standing beside him.   
　Buck stopped the bus at the gate and cut off the engine before jumping out. The soldier who was seated walked out and greeted Buck with a handful of forms. "Sign these," he barked, handing them and a pen over to the journalist.   
　Buck shrugged and walked into the office, found a flat surface to write on, and wrote the name of the only alias he had on his person. The office was abandoned now, the other guard probably out checking the bus. _Please don't let them find Ben!_ Buck prayed silently, signing his name on the last of the customs forms. He left the papers and pen on the desk, then walked out to find the first guard standing by the bus entrance.   
　"The bus is clean," the guard grumbled. "I'll open the gate, and you can go on. Have fun in Egypt."   
　_The bus checked out all right!_ Buck smiled inwardly, climbing onto the bus. He settled himself in the driver's seat, checking the rear-view mirrors if Ben and Elecmon were still hiding, and let the engine idle. Once the gate slid open, Buck put his weight on the gas, and the bus rattled out of Israel.   
　"Ben, you could get up now," Buck called once the checkpoint was a good fifty kilometers away. "We passed the checkpoint."   
　The rabbi sighed and clambered back into his seat. He was holding something in his arms - not Elecmon, apparently, since the red-and-blue-striped digimon had climbed into the seat on his own. The thing in his arms was a strange shade of beige-orange, with a white belly, four black paws, bat-like ears, and blue eyes that could barely keep themselves open.   
　"What the hell is that thing?!" Buck exclaimed, driving off the side of the road and letting the engine idle. "That wasn't on the bus earlier!" He jumped out of his seat and ran to Ben's side - now he could see the creature closer....   
　"It is my partner!" Ben exclaimed, beaming in the darkened bus. "That guard with those two ponytails, he came onto the bus and stood right where you are. He told me, 'I am Sakuyamon, assistant to the Guardian of the Golden Land.' Then there was a flash of golden light, and I saw a woman in the most beautiful armor, with a staff and a golden fox's head for a helm. She had this creature in her arms" - he motioned to the digimon he held - "and handed it to me. 'This is your partner,' she told me, and then she transformed back into that guard and walked out!"   
　_Sakuyamon?_ Buck thought, his eyes bulging in shock. _She said she had to bring the Guardian to his partner ... and Ben carries the Crest of Spirit, so his partner could become the Guardian as well...._   
　"What is your partner's name, anyway?" Buck asked at length, bringing himself to his knees. He brought himself closer to the half-asleep digimon - damn, it sure looked familiar now, like one of the partners of those long-vanished Japanese kids.   
　The digimon raised its head up to Ben, struggled to open its mouth and whisper a name. "Takeru ... is that you?"   
　_Takeru!? Holy Mother of God, that's ... Takeru's partner? Patamon!? But ... didn't he die after that battle in 'edhen? Impossible!_   
　Ben shook his head. "No, my name is not Takeru. I am Tsion, but you can call me Ben. How about you? What is your name?"   
　"Patamon...."   
　Buck couldn't help but to smile - it was good to see a Chosen Child and a digimon reunited. And in Ben's case, the reunion had been long belated. "I'm glad you're together again. I'll get the bus started again, and we'll be in Cairo in no time."   
　"But how do we get to America? I cannot go in public!"   
　"Don't worry, Ben - I have a way."   
　He touched the D3 hidden in a coat pocket. If worse came to worse, he could become the Guardian and take all of them to the United States. All Buck could hope for was some way to carry two digimon and a human across the Atlantic easily. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - New Babylon   
------------------------------------------------- 

Parker sat in his quarters in the New Babylon headquarters of the Global Community, eyes set on a television in the dark room. Tentomon and Raven were in the master bedroom of the penthouse suite, their snores hovering over the evening news.   
　"No news so far of the mysterious apparition that was seen in the bombing of Chicago," a reporter for GCNN droned; "pilots for the Global Community claim seeing an angel clothed in white flying over the city beneath their jets. It is being written off as a hoax by Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia.   
　"In other news, Tsion Ben-Judah, a rabbi from Israel made famous for his telecast on the Jewish Messiah only over a year ago, has apparently gone into hiding after the murder of his family. He is the prime suspect in the crime, and could go under trial and face the death sentence if proven guilty...."   
　Parker switched off the television and sighed. Chloe had told him earlier that evening that Buck was in Israel right now, trying to get Tsion out of the country. Whatever his plans were, Parker hoped that they would be successful - he couldn't imagine what would happen if another Chosen Child was captured. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - somewhere outside of Cairo   
------------------------------------------------- 

Red flashing lights appeared in one of the outside mirrors of the bus. They were patrol cars, painted with the insignia of the Egyptian border police. There were two cars, each with two officers inside. One of the officers had a bullhorn, which he poked outside of the passenger-side window.   
　"Halt! Pull over for inspection! We know you are carrying a fugitive from Israel! Stop or you will be shot!"   
　"Damn it, how did they find out?" Buck cursed, his foot pressing the gas pedal to the floor. "The bus was checked out as clean back at Israel!"   
　"I have no idea," Ben called from the back of the bus, "but I think we should get them off our tail."   
　"Sounds like a good plan," Elecmon agreed. "Come on and let me at them!"   
　Buck nodded and took out his D3. "All right, then, Elecmon - Digimental Up!"   
　"Elecmon, armor evolve! Mysterious Truth, Kyuubimon!"   
　The nine-tailed fox ran down the center aisle to the emergency door in the back, ramming it open with a well-aimed blow of his body. He flew out of the opening, tucked into a ball glowing with a sinister blue fire. "Fox Fire Dragon!"   
　The digimon was a raging ball of flame, rolling out towards the patrol cars in a blur of blue fire. A dragon seemed to emerge from the fire, extending pitless eyes and a mouth of hollow flames at the careening cars that backed away from the bus. The dragon blew through the cars, incinerating the men inside and igniting the gas tanks inside. Orange fireballs engulfed the patrol cars as the blue fire faded away, revealing Kyuubimon standing triumphantly a safe distance away from the inferno.   
　"Good job, Kyuubimon!" Buck yelled, pulling the bus off the road and cutting off the engine. He clambered out of the bus, Ben and a sleeping Patamon following behind as they made their way to Kyuubimon.   
　"There's more coming," the fox whispered, looking up at Buck. "We'd better leave - we won't make the airport."   
　"Right." Buck pressed a button on the D3, revealing the traced figure of the Spirit of Hope. Ignoring the urge to follow the hypnotic lines of the Spirit's image, he brought the D3 before his body and said the words that would activate it.   
　"Spirit ... Evolution!"   
　A blast of white light, the familiar burning-tingling sensation across his body, and a slight disorientation followed as Buck opened his eyes. He looked through the alien readout screen, saw Ben, Kyuubimon - now reverted to Elecmon - and Patamon down below, craning their necks to see his face. Buck fingered the Omega Blade in his hands as he looked down at his friends below - they had to be brought to safety, before the sirens he heard in the distance could draw closer.   
　"Come on - we have to go."   
　He took Ben - still holding Patamon - into his arms, and let Elecmon climb onto his shoulders. With a sudden burst of speed, Buck ran down the road, away from the bus and the smoldering patrol cars, wings fully extended to catch the wind. In less than a minute they were in the air, high above the authorities, headed over the Atlantic Ocean for the United States - and freedom. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Mount Prospect, Chicago, Illinois   
Time - twenty-two months into the Digital Conundrum   
------------------------------------------------- 

The war was over now.   
　For Buck, that was somewhat hard to believe. Chicago was still a bombed-out shell, and the suburbs weren't spared the fate of the main city. Mount Prospect was still standing, thankfully, and Chloe was still at home safe. Parker's associates from Project Backstep were well, too, having now moved into a larger - and better-hid - sanctuary elsewhere in the suburbs.   
　Ben was safe, as well - he had moved into the old shelter at the church. He communicated with Chloe, Parker, and Buck via the D3, which he received once setting foot on American soil. The rabbi spent his time studying - "There has been more written about this Digital Conundrum in ancient days than you think," he had once told them - and taking care of his partner, Patamon.   
　The war had been over for three days now. The treaties for peace had been signed - though according to Parker, there had been none. At least Buck could drive out in his new Explorer without fear of an attack.   
　Something else was on his mind this afternoon, though.   
　He had talked to Ben this morning, over an omelet - a nice break from a diet of instant ramen. Ben had learned something about the events of the Digital Conundrum from his studies - and apparently there was something of importance that concerned him.   
　"So, what's this you want to talk to me about?" Buck had asked, forking some omelet into his mouth.   
　"It is the next judgment in the Digital Conundrum," the rabbi whispered. "As you know, one of your sacred texts - I believe the book of Revelation in your Bible - tells of the full course of the Digital Conundrum. This first series of judgments are borne forth from a seven-sealed scroll - when a seal is broken, a judgment befalls the earth and Digital World. We have witnessed four of these judgments - the hearkening of the Four Horsemen."   
　"Horsemen, as in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse?"   
　"Exactly. We have witnessed the conquering of the world, a global war, with death and famine directly in its tracks. There are three more seals yet to be broken."   
　"And what happens then?"   
　"The fifth seal brings forth the cries of the Chosen Children, wanting revenge against the darkness that plagues the world. Some legends say that only a selected few could hear their voices - one of them being the Faithful and True.   
　"The Faithful and True one will grow enraged, causing the breaking of the sixth seal. This will bring forth his wrath, an earthquake felt around the world. Many will perish in it. Those who survive will witness the breaking of the seventh seal - an hour of silence that calls forth the next seven judgments."   
　"Wait - there's more judgments after that?"   
　"Yes - twenty-one in all. The next seven are to be called forth by seven blasts on the Trumpet of Hope by the Guardian still housed in the Golden Land, and are said to be worse than the previous seven. The final judgments, though, are the worst - they will leave the earth and Digital World stripped of everything, making them wastelands in preparation for the final battle and the coming of the Faithful and True."   
　Buck had left Ben's shelter in stunned silence - but not from the message his comrade had given him. Voices started to echo in his head, one at a time at first. Around noon the voices escalated to conversational tones, enough for him to turn around suspiciously as he ate lunch at a bistro.   
　A few hours later Buck emerged from a computer shop, four laptop computers in his arms, still in their packaging. He placed them in the trunk and went behind the wheel. He had brought Elecmon with him - the digimon was strapped in the back seat.   
　_Revenge....   
　Faithful and True one, bring us revenge on the darkness....   
　Kill them for what they have done....   
　Destroy the persecutors of the Chosen....   
　Revenge, Faithful and True one, revenge....   
　Revenge...._   
　The voices grew to a shriek as he made his way back to Mount Prospect, making Buck run a few red lights and garner him a few angry responses from drivers. The voices would drive him mad, Buck knew, and the best thing was to go back home, back to Chloe, back to Mount Prospect....   
　He stopped at the next light, looked up at the street sign to check his position. The lights were swaying gently, as though in a breeze.   
　"Strange ... it's not supposed to be windy today," Buck mused, watching the light turn green. He stepped on the gas and casually drove to Mount Prospect. 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Global Community Headquarters, New Babylon   
------------------------------------------------- 

Frank Parker heard the strange voices in his head that evening, as well. They had distracted him too often that day that Mac had to fly him over to Nicolae's penthouse office in the main complex.   
　Donovan greeted Parker when he set foot in the office. "Have you heard about Nicolae's fiancée?"   
　Parker nodded - it was common knowledge amongst those close to Nicolae that Hattie, a former airline flight attendant, was engaged to the potentate. "Sure, I've heard about her. Who hasn't?"   
　"Well, I got some tapes from somebody in security - they monitored his room three nights ago. You won't believe what I found."   
　"What?"   
　"Well, if you hear from your boss today that his consort it pregnant, pretend to be pleased by the good news."   
　Parker gasped - a human was impregnated by a digimon? Even after hearing the legends of the Faithful and True one, the prospect of such a thing happening took him aback. "I'll try, Donovan."   
　Donovan strolled out, soon replaced by a chipper man in a blue suit and a power tie. "Ah, it is nice to see you again, Mr. Parker."   
　"Same here, Potentate."   
　"You know why I called you here?" Parker shook his head. "Good. Well, it just turns out that my fiance, Miss Durham, is pregnant. I just thought it appropriate to spread the good news."   
　Parker managed to gulp, drowning out the voices in his head temporarily. "Well, congratulations, Potentate. Congratulations."   
　A rumble shook the floor, sending the two men to their knees.   
　"What was that?" Nicolae bellowed, rising to his feet. The lights above flickered and died, leaving them in darkness.   
　_The Faithful and True one has brought his wrath on the earth...._   
　"Oh shit," Parker breathed, fumbling for his cell phone in his dress uniform's pockets. He brought it out and speed-dialed the number on Mac's phone. "Mac, start the engines! I'm coming up there!"   
　"What is it, Mr. Parker?" Nicolae cursed, stumbling over to Parker's side. The ground rumbled again, reeling the two of them over to the emergency stairs.   
　"It's a goddamn earthquake!" Parker yelled. "We're going to the roof - Mac has a helicopter for us!" 

-------------------------------------------------   
Location - Mount Prospect, Chicago   
------------------------------------------------- 

Buck felt the rumble, too, at almost the same time. Though it was late afternoon in Chicago, the light suddenly faded into darkness, illuminated only by the headlights of cars. Ignoring the traffic signal, Buck sped through the intersection, trying to find his way to Mount Prospect before the earthquake took its full toll.   
　"Buck, stop driving so fast!" Elecmon complained, throwing on a seatbelt. "You can't even see a foot ahead!"   
　"I don't give a damn!" Buck cursed, hunched over the steering wheel. Elecmon was correct - even with the headlights on high, he still couldn't see very far. "Besides, I don't think we're going to fall into a-"   
　The front wheels lurched over a crevice newly formed in the street, and the momentum of the car brought it tumbling down to the dirt-covered bottom ten feet below. A car that had driven alongside Buck fell nose-first into the hole, exploding into a frenzy of flame just feet away.   
　"Oh shit," Buck cursed, looking up at the darkening sky above. "Damn, I pray Ben and Chloe and Frank survive this...." 

{ 'Til the End of the World, credits, and ending animation plays.... } 

NEXT TIME ON _DIGITAL CONUNDRUM_....   
The sixth and seventh judgments of the Scroll of Perdition are released, bringing the greatest earthquake to hit the earth in history! Though the Chosen Children survive, it comes at a great price - for one of them is captured in the confusion! In the aftermath, new mysteries are revealed: was there more to Raven than it seemed? Does the human/digimon child in Hattie's womb pose a threat to the Chosen? What is the strange mark that appears on the Chosen Children? And what happened to Donovan? All this and more are revealed in _Backstep 17: Secrets of the Crest of Spirit_! 


End file.
